Stephen Graham reveals how he prepared to play 'diabolical serial killer' in brand new 10-episode thriller

Stephen Graham is keeping us fed with his top-tier acting as he’s about to star in a new series.

And maybe that’s a poor choice of words, as his performance in Nocturne has already been compared to Hannibal Lecter in the Silence of the Lambs.

A 10-episode thriller, it sees Graham portraying ‘diabolical serial killer’ Jurek Walter. Releasing on Apple TV+ on 30 October, it sees former homicide detective Jonah Lynn (Live Schreiber) racing to protect his town and family from the imprisoned killer.

It’s certainly quite the pivot for Graham from the likes of Adolescence but hey, if there’s one thing we can all agree on, the scouse legend is a brilliant actor.

And he had his way of preparing for Nocturne, with some help from his serial killer ‘obsessed’ wife, Hannah Walters.

Graham and Liev Schreiber in Nocturne. (Apple TV)

Speaking on The Romesh Ranganathan Show last month, the 53-year-old was asked just how he prepares ‘to play that guy’.

“Well, I’ll be dead honest with you. Hannah’s obsessed with serial killers,” Graham explained.

So, she encouraged him to watch some true crime documentaries with her and soon after: “I became obsessed with watching them. And then things just sink in, don’t they? Do you know what I mean?

“But it’s all about the script. It’s all in the script, it has to start with the script.”

The actor added to The Times that from watching these documentaries, he learnt about the ‘manipulation’ these killers are capable of.

“They have to be charming in a certain way. I like to immerse myself in the research, really understand it, and then throw it away and be in the moment,” he said.

Graham told TV Insider that he spent about a week watching these documentaries with Hannah after their daily work.

But there was also the preparation in the script and working with the director, as he gave great praise to Tim Van Patten.

Prepare to be creeped out. (Apple TV)

“Primarily I wanted to do this because of Tim Van Patten – that was my main pull if I’m really honest. The script was phenomenal,” he added.

He went on to say there was ‘lots of collaboration’ with writer John Hlavin.

“We’d meet up every Sunday and go through the scenes for the week. It was vital to have that resource of John to tie in the research I’d done. You come to work with an idea and offer that up and then listen to your director,” Graham explained.

But besides the script and direction, one of the main reasons the star wanted to do Nocturne was because it’s a character he’s never played before.

He added to Ranganathan: “Then it was the complexities of the character. And I just though, I’ve never done this. I’ve never done anything like this before and I just really wanted to have a go and see what I could do with it.”

Nocturne premiers on Apple TV on 30 October.