Stephen Graham, best known for playing tough guys in shows like Boardwalk Empire and The Irishman, didn’t expect his latest project, Adolescence, to get this big. The four-part Netflix series has achieved a 99% Rotten Tomato rating, and critics just can’t stop talking about this masterpiece.
The series follows the life of a 13-year-old boy who is charged with murder and how his life and the lives of those around him descend into chaos after that. Graham co-created the series and plays the boy's father. Now, in an interview with Rolling Stone, Graham spoke about the show's international reach and how it was made.
"Did you say India?": Stephen Graham's reaction to the show's popularity
When Adolescence landed on Netflix on March 14th, Graham assumed it would pick up back home in the UK. What he did not anticipate was how far the show would go. And India was certainly not on his bingo card. Within a matter of days, it topped Netflix's most-watched list globally. But it was the reaction of the Indian audience that really caught him off guard.
I received a text from a friend of mine, informing me how large Adolescence is in India," he states. "And my immediate reaction was, 'Hold on… did you say India?! Did I hear you right?' Apparently, it's really hitting a chord there.
For Stephen Graham, it has been surreal. He has been told how the show began in a very localized way, as in it was about a certain place and way of life. "But it's like we threw a stone into this pond, and the ripple effect that it's caused has been incredible."