Stephen Graham shares huge update on 'completely different' Adolescence sequel
Stephen Graham has given fans an update on the sequel to Adolescence after his Netflix hit swept awards season but teased that it will be 'completely different'
Stephen Graham has insisted that a sequel to Adolescence will be a 'completely different story' if it were to come to fruition. The actor, 52, starred in the acclaimed Netflix drama earlier this year, where he played the father of a boy who is arrested for the murder of his classmate, and the series went on to score multiple wins at this year's Emmy Awards in the US.
The programme was lauded for the way it tackled the issue of misogyny within the social media age and Stephen, who co-created the series with Jack Thorne, insisted that any sort of follow-up would focus on something 'completely different' because there is nothing else left to do with the initial story.
He said: "If we do decide to visit that world again at some later stage, it will be a completely different story. I think that story is told within its entirety now. There’s nowhere else that that story can go. We managed to achieve our objective, which was to create conversation …"
Stephen picked up Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie at the ceremony, whilst Owen Cooper, 15, who played teenager Jamie, received the gong for Outstanding Supporting Actor. Speaking to Rolling Stone, he added: "To be a part of something that raises consciousness and the awareness was just unfathomable to be honest with you.
"And I feel very humbled and extremely blessed to be a part of something like that."
Filming for each episode of the drama series was carried out in one continuous take, and Stephen, who is also known for his roles in This Is England and Peaky Blinders, recently revealed that another project that would follow the same sort of production method is potentially on the way, but had to be 'tight-lipped' about it for the time being.
Stephen said: "Right now we are having talks and discussions about finding another story. I think we have to be tight-lipped at the moment." He went on to tell the Daily Mail: "And we're all talking at the moment. The same concept with the idea of doing something in one take."
The programme examines incel (involuntary celibate) culture, which has led to misogyny online and bullying using social media. Following its release, the drama prompted a national conversation around online safety, with Graham and co-creator Jack Thorne accepting an invitation to a parliamentary meeting on the subject by Labour MP Josh MacAlister.
Speaking to Parliament’s Women And Equalities Committee (WEC) during an evidence session, Thorne spoke about being subjected to “personal criticism or even abuse” since it began streaming.
He said: “You know that I’m a bald, skinny, weird-looking man, and some people have made something of the fact that I’m a bald, skinny, weird-looking man, and saying these things and that somehow my masculinity is the reason why I’ve questioned other people’s masculinity.
“Well, if you look at how Stephen Graham looks, he looks more male than anyone else on the planet, I think, and so we’re a combination of things and we work together on it all.
“So, yes, my looks have been put under the microscope a little bit by it all, but I’m absolutely comfortable with those questions being answered, and that’s the thing, when I talk about boys feeling that they need to look a certain way.”
He said the comments about his appearance were a symptom of the issues the show is highlighting. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has also praised the show, urging Parliament and schools to watch it, and saying he had watched the show with his own children.
During an edition of Prime Minister’s Questions in March, Sir Keir said: “This violence carried out by young men, influenced by what they see online, is a real problem, it’s abhorrent, and we have to tackle it.”
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