Stephen Graham on Exploring Online Radicalisation in Netflix’s Adolescence

Stephen Graham joined us to discuss his work as a co-creator, co-writer & actor in the explosive new Netflix drama series Adolescence. What began with him and director Phillip Barantini being asked to create a tv series filmed in one take following utilizing this style on their collaboration on the movie Boiling Point, quickly became a story which explores the rice of incel culture and questionable perspectives around masculinity online once co-writer Jack Thorne came on board. This led to the series exploring the repercussions of a 13 year old boy Jamie being accused of murdering a female classmate.

It was important to them all that they reveal the true verdict of the crime up front so that they could explore the impact this has on a family and the community around Jamie. They lucked out in landing the exceptionally talented actor Owen Cooper who stepped into the role of Jamie as his first on screen performance.

In the series Stephen plays Eddie, Jamie’s father and shared how it was important to show the love and the want to protect his son’s innocence before realizing the reality and truth of what he has done. In episode 4 Eddie and his wife discuss how they have landed here and what mistakes they might have made along the way, but also realize that the same parenting that created their son also created their daughter who is succeeding on her path in life. However they are also faced with the idea that whilst they thought their son was safe when he was in his room by himself, that this was exactly where the danger began.

Since the show was filmed with each episode in one single take, the rehearsal process was pivotal ahead of filming but also allowed them to find some of the emotional beats and details along the way. For example this is where they found the heartbreaking moment at the end of episode 4 and the detail of Jamie’s teddy bear on the bed.

Watch the full conversation below:

Q&A on the Netflix series Adolescence with actor/co-creator/writer Stephen Graham. Moderated by Mara Webster, In Creative Company.

When a 13-year-old is accused of the murder of a classmate, his family, therapist and the detective in charge are all left asking what really happened.