Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#847
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Stephen Graham represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 27 years in, and Stephen is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Stephen Graham appears in 42 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Stephen. Snatch is the clearest case: a film rated 7.9 by our editors, where the performance carries weight the script only implies.
The recognisable elements are versatility, transformation, quiet performance. Watch two of these films back to back and the method separates from the material — the same instrument, tuned differently for drama, thriller, mystery. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Florian Zeller, Jan Komasa, Ashley Walters and others, Stephen Graham helped set a standard other performers now audition against. Awards bodies have been slower than the work, which is usually the sign of a career built on choices rather than campaigns.
Snatch (2000) as Tommy · This Is England (2007) as Combo · Young Woman and the Sea (2024) as Bill Burgess
Career snapshot
Ranked #847 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
42
2000–2027
Career length
27 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
7.9
Snatch
Average Nutevio score
6.2
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
7.9
Young Woman and the Sea
Most frequent director
Nick Murphy
2 films together
Longest collaboration
2×
With Nick Murphy
Most common genre
Drama
28 titles
Average runtime
1h 45m
Across catalogue work
Golden Globe wins
—
Unknown
Nutevio metric
Ten weighted categories, applied identically to everyone we cover.
Nutevio Performer Score
6.8
out of 10
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio metric
Cultural impact and legacy, measured separately from craft — how far the work travelled once it left the cinema.
Nutevio Influence Score
6.4
out of 10
A quieter influence — felt inside the films rather than across the industry.
How far the work travelled past the people who saw it first.
What survives once the release-week conversation has burned off.
Institutional acknowledgement, weighted but never decisive.
Years of chosen, relevant work rather than years merely employed.
Statuettes, read as evidence rather than verdict.
Roles named without needing the film named alongside them.
Directors who wrote parts because this performer existed.
The reading other performers now have to answer.
Actor DNA
A fingerprint derived from the roles themselves — register, range and the kind of film they carry.
The shape of a career
Every performance plotted in time. Hover a point to read the title behind it.
Peak years
Where the scores, the awards and the sheer volume of work agree with each other.
Best decade
2000s
6.8 average MV
The 2000s are where the work and the material meet. Public Enemies, The Damned United, Doghouse — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
2000s
6.8
Across 10 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
2000s
6.7
The public agrees most strongly about this stretch — useful context, and occasionally a decade behind our own reading.
Most awarded era
2000s
0 Academy Awards
Statuettes for the films themselves, which is the honest way to read an ensemble career. Public Enemies, The Damned United, Doghouse.
Most productive era
2020s
18 films
The busiest stretch of the catalogue — volume that reads as appetite rather than availability.
Range, mapped
Genres down the side, decades across the top. Warmer cells mean stronger titles.
| Genre | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | 6.87 films | 6.48 films | 5.313 films |
| Action | — | 6.26 films | 7.03 films |
| Thriller | 6.01 film | 6.24 films | 4.73 films |
| Comedy | 6.53 films | 6.11 film | 6.92 films |
| Crime | 7.44 films | 5.93 films | 7.21 film |
| Romance | — | 6.41 film | — |
| Horror | 5.81 film | 5.61 film | — |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio · Highest rated performance · Career peak
2000Snatch
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Tommy. 7.9 on the Nutevio scale, the top of the catalogue for this performer. Weighing billing against the film's own quality, this is the point where everything aligned at once.
Most recent film
2027Bunker
The current state of the argument.
Our order
Every performance in the catalogue, ordered by Nutevio Score.
Every title
Filter by genre or decade, and compare any two titles side by side.
42 of 42 films
as Andy Jones
Directed by Philip Barantini
as Combo
Directed by Shane Meadows
as Charlie Cole
Directed by Aaron Schneider
From the library
Every movie and TV credit stored for this name in the Nutevio catalogue — filter by media, role or sort by rating.
Loading credits…
The defining work
#1
Tommy
Snatch (2000)
Performance score8.2
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Tommy gives Stephen Graham a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Andy Jones
Boiling Point (2021)
Performance score7.8
Boiling Point asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Andy Jones is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Combo
This Is England (2007)
Performance score7.8
This Is England asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Combo is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Bill Burgess
Young Woman and the Sea (2024)
Performance score7.7
Young Woman and the Sea asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Bill Burgess is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movieStart here
A guided path through the work, ordered so each film explains the next.
Best entry point
as Tommy
Start here. Snatch is the clearest statement of what Stephen Graham does — accessible, 103 minutes, and rated 7.9 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Stephen at the most legible performance, then move forward in time so each film reads as a response to the one before it rather than a repetition of it.
This Is England (2007)
Keeps the crime register of Snatch but asks for a colder reading of it.
Greyhound (2020)
Keeps the drama register of This Is England but asks for a colder reading of it.
Boiling Point (2021)
Keeps the drama register of Greyhound but asks for a colder reading of it.
Young Woman and the Sea (2024)
Keeps the drama register of Boiling Point but asks for a colder reading of it.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Nick Murphy
Director
2 films together
Notably FX's A Christmas Carol
Guy Ritchie
Director
1 film together
Notably Snatch
Paddy Breathnach
Director
1 film together
Notably Blow Dry
Martin Scorsese
Director
1 film together
Notably Gangs of New York
Roland Suso Richter
Director
1 film together
Notably The I Inside
Danny Cannon
Director
1 film together
Notably Goal!
Shane Meadows
Director
1 film together
Notably This Is England
Tom Hooper
Director
1 film together
Notably The Damned United
Michael Mann
Director
1 film together
Notably Public Enemies
William Monahan
Director
1 film together
Notably London Boulevard
Ami Canaan Mann
Director
1 film together
Notably Texas Killing Fields
Rob Marshall
Director
1 film together
Notably Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Tomas Alfredson
Director
1 film together
Notably Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Christopher Smith
Director
1 film together
Notably Get Santa
Paul McGuigan
Director
1 film together
Notably Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool
Saul Dibb
Director
1 film together
Notably Journey's End
Cédric Jimenez
Director
1 film together
Notably The Man with the Iron Heart
Espen Sandberg
Director
1 film together
Notably Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
Neil Marshall
Director
1 film together
Notably Hellboy
Dexter Fletcher
Director
1 film together
Notably Rocketman
Aaron Schneider
Director
1 film together
Notably Greyhound
Marc Munden
Director
1 film together
Notably Help
Luke Davies
Director
1 film together
Notably Phallacy
Andy Serkis
Director
1 film together
Notably Venom: Let There Be Carnage
Philip Barantini
Director
1 film together
Notably Boiling Point
Steve McQueen
Director
1 film together
Notably Blitz
Johnny Depp
Director
1 film together
Notably Modi, Three Days on the Wing of Madness
Kelly Marcel
Director
1 film together
Notably Venom: The Last Dance
Joachim Rønning
Director
1 film together
Notably Young Woman and the Sea
Scott Cooper
Director
1 film together
Notably Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Tom Harper
Director
1 film together
Notably Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man
Ashley Walters
Director
1 film together
Notably Animol
Jan Komasa
Director
1 film together
Notably Good Boy
Florian Zeller
Director
1 film together
Notably Bunker
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Nick Murphy
Director
2 films together · 6.6 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
FX's A Christmas CarolGuy Ritchie
Director
1 film together · 7.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
SnatchShane Meadows
Director
1 film together · 7.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
This Is EnglandJoachim Rønning
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Young Woman and the SeaAaron Schneider
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
GreyhoundMartin Scorsese
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Gangs of New YorkDexter Fletcher
Director
1 film together · 7.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
RocketmanTom Harper
Director
1 film together · 7.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Peaky Blinders: The Immortal ManPhilip Barantini
Director
1 film together · 7.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Boiling PointTom Hooper
Director
1 film together · 7.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Damned UnitedMarc Munden
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
HelpJan Komasa
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Good BoyKelly Marcel
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Venom: The Last DanceMichael Mann
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Public EnemiesDanny Cannon
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Goal!Andy Serkis
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Venom: Let There Be CarnageEspen Sandberg
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No TalesScott Cooper
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Springsteen: Deliver Me from NowhereCédric Jimenez
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Man with the Iron HeartTomas Alfredson
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Tinker Tailor Soldier SpyRob Marshall
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger TidesPaul McGuigan
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Film Stars Don't Die in LiverpoolSaul Dibb
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Journey's EndJohnny Depp
Director
1 film together · 6.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Modi, Three Days on the Wing of MadnessChristopher Smith
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Get SantaSteve McQueen
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
BlitzRoland Suso Richter
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The I InsideWilliam Monahan
Director
1 film together · 5.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
London BoulevardPaddy Breathnach
Director
1 film together · 5.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Blow DryAmi Canaan Mann
Director
1 film together · 5.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Texas Killing FieldsNeil Marshall
Director
1 film together · 5.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
HellboyFlorian Zeller
Director
1 film together · 0.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
BunkerAshley Walters
Director
1 film together · 0.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
AnimolLuke Davies
Director
1 film together · 0.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
PhallacySix degrees
Follow the thread outward — director, film, co-star, and the film after that.
Categories of our own
Six editorial categories we apply to every performer we cover.
Most rewatchable
Snatch
as Tommy
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
Rocketman
as Dick James
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
Snatch
as Tommy
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
Buffalo Kids
as Uncle Niall (Voice)
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Snatch
as Tommy
If the career had to be argued in a single scene, our editors would pick one from this film and rest the case.
In their films' words
“You can build a whole film around a performer who knows when not to speak. Stephen Graham has known it for a long time.”
Head to head
Put two careers on the same scale and see where the argument actually sits.
Ours alone
Recognitions handed out by this desk, on criteria no awards body uses.
Career Achievement
Awarded
27 years of relevant work — not merely a long career, but a long career of choices.
Modern Classic Performer
Awarded
Defining performances delivered inside the last twenty-five years, in films already being taught rather than merely remembered.
Drama Legend
Awarded
28 catalogue titles in drama, each one a reference point for the films that followed.
Our desk
Best ending, best opening, best twist and the rest — categories we apply to everyone we cover.
Best ending
Snatch
as Tommy
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Good Boy
as Chris
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
as Douglas Springsteen
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
as Jerry Westerby
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Venom: The Last Dance
as Detective Mulligan
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Hellboy
as Gruagach (voice)
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
Gangs of New York
as Shang
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Venom: The Last Dance
as Detective Mulligan
The public vote sits below ours on this one, and the direction is the reason for the gap.
If you like this performer
Matt Damon
Works with the same directors — Martin Scorsese
Robert De Niro
Works with the same directors — shared collaborators
Michael Caine
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Tom Hanks
Built a career in the same territory: animation and family
Bonnie Hunt
Built a career in the same territory: animation and family
Ted Levine
Works with the same directors — shared collaborators
Have your say
Community
Which Stephen Graham performance holds up best?
Our readers argue about this one. Make your case, or read the ranked debate already in progress.
Join the conversation
Reference
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