Stephen Graham offered to adopt This Is England co-star Thomas Turgoose after family tragedy
The British actor may go down as one of the most talented in history, but he's also known for his caring nature and support for others in the industry.
The 51-year-old is known to have supported actress Jodie Comer, also from Liverpool, early in her career, to the point where she thanked him in her BAFTA speech in 2019.
Graham, who is the star of new Netflix hit series Adolescence, had to wait for his career breakthrough, finding it in 2006 with his role as Combo in This Is England.
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Following his role in the drama, he would go on to star in huge films such as The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and The Irishman, among other notable titles.
But apart from starring in hit films and TV series, the actor is also known for developing strong relationships with cast members on his projects.
One of these actors was Thomas Turgoose, who played Shaun Fields in This Is England.
Aged just 13 at the time, he played a young boy that became involved in a gang of skinheads, of which Combo (Graham) was part of.
While he starts out by idolising the gang member, his violent and racist nature is eventually realised by the teenager.
Away from the screen though, Turgoose was undergoing a troubled time at home, as his mother Sharon passed away due to lung cancer.
As a result, the film was dedicated to her, as he recalled on a 2021 episode of the Private Parts podcast, adding: "Stephen Graham promised my mum he'd look out for me.
"Everyone involved in This is England are family to me."
Following the tragic loss, he was set to move in with his estranged father, before Graham and Meadows offered to give him a home.
"When my mum died I moved in with my dad and I didn't know him, so Shane Meadows and Stephen Graham were going to adopt me if things didn't work out with my dad," Turgoose explained.
Despite the rocky period, Turgoose went on to star in further instalments of the film series; This Is England ’86 in 2010, This Is England ’88 the year after, and This Is England ’90 in 2015.
But his life could have very nearly gone another way entirely.
Turgoose claimed that he was destined for prison before landing the role as Shaun, revealing: "I was destined for prison. Shoplifting things I didn't need.
"There was a hardware store in Grimsby that I used to steal spray paint from for no reason."
The actor eventually married his long-term partner Charlotte Revell in 2018, and invited several This Is England co-stars, including Graham.
In a post on Instagram, the 33-year-old shared a photo of himself and his bride with his co-stars, simply captioning it: "Family."
Topics: Stephen Graham, Cancer, Film, Celebrity
Joshua Nair