The Adolescent star teases a role in the upcoming James Bond movie with friend and collaborator Steven Knight, calling it “shiny b*******s.”
Stephen Graham, star of awards circuit favourite Adolescence, has called awards “shiny b******s”, as he teases a role in the next James Bond film. Stephen had a knockout year in 2025, after starring in and co-creating Netflix’s hit psychological series.
Adolescence was released in March last year and followed Jamie Miller, a 13 year-old who murdered a female classmate. Stephen, who played Jamie’s father, co-wrote the series about toxic masculinity in teenage boys with Jack Thorne. He has already won a Best Actor and Writer award at the Emmys and has been nominated for a Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award.
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In an interview with The Guardian, Stephen said he didn’t care about the awards – the impact on viewers was the real prize. “Having a fella come up in Tesco and say: ‘I just want to thank you. I had a really good chat with my son the other night after we watched your programme.’ No disrespect but you can keep your awards and all that shiny b*******s. That’s the real accolade.”
The announcement comes just one day before Stephen’s announcement that he won the Critics’ Choice Awards for Best Actor in a Limited Series and Best Actor in a Limited Series.
Erin Doherty, who played a psychologist, and Christine Tremarco, who played Jamie’s mother, are both nominated for Supporting Actress, while Owen Cooper, who plays Jamie, and Ashley Walters, who play the detective in charge of the case, are also nominated for Best Supporting Actor.
The show has also received an abundance of praise, including from political figures. Shortly after it was released on Netflix, MP Annaliese Midgley said it’s exploration of the impact of the manosphere meant the series should be shown in schools to combat the rise in misogyny in young men and boys. The call was backed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who made the show free for viewing in UK secondary schools.
Elsewhere in the interview, Stephen discussed his collaboration with screenwriter and Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight. Stephen and Steven worked together on boxing period drama A Thousand Blows in 2025 and are now collaborating on a new film for the Birmingham gangster series, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man.
The next James Bond movie’s screenplay is also being written by the screenwriter. Daniel Craig has most recently played the iconic martini drinking spy, but he will not be reprising his role in the movie after leaving No Time To Die.
The Guardian asked Steven and Stephen if they were a “scouse 007,” and who would play the role has not yet been revealed.
Stephen claimed that being a villain would be “more enjoyable.” The screenwriter concurred that the majority of the “great” actors he’d spoken to did the same. Many well-known Bond villains have been portrayed by well-known actors, including Mads Mikkelsen’s Le Chiffre, played by Mads Mikkelsen, Max Zorin from A View To A Kill, Max Zorin from A View To A Kill, Janus from Goldeneye, played by Sean Bean, and Le Chiffre from Casino Royale, played by Mads Mikkelsen.
In terms of 007, several British actors have been cast as potential replacements. Idris Elba, Callum Turner, and Harris Dickinson are just a few of them. Some people have suggested Aussie actor Jacob Elordi, despite the fact that British or Irish actors have yet to play Bond.
Source: Mirror
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