ROLE PLAYING: Stephen Graham

As Stephen Graham, 43, continues to play DSI Dave Kelly in the true-life drama Little Boy Blue (9pm, ITV), we chart his life and career through a selection of his defining roles…

Snatch (2000): Born in Kirby, Merseyside, in 1973, Stephen’s early work was on TV, with small roles in Children’s Ward (1991) and Coronation Street (1999). His movie break came in this Guy Richie crime film, in which he played London gangster, Tommy, alongside Brad Pitt. This Is England (2006): Playing skinhead Combo (left) in this hit British movie, and its TV spin-offs, was the role that put Stephen on the map, but he

didn’t find it easy to get work after the movie came out. He nearly walked away from acting, but his wife (actor Hannah Walters, with whom he has two children, Grace and Alfie) persuaded him to stick at it. Boardwalk Empire (2010):

Stephen needn’t have worried – he had powerful fans. Director Martin Scorsese, whom Stephen had worked with on 2002 film

Gangs Of New York, cast him as Al Capone in this acclaimed TV miniseries. According to Stephen, Scorsese called him his ‘little British Joe Pesci’.

Decline And Fall: Stephen doesn’t just play tough guys – he’s proved his versatility in high-profile TV literary adaptations, including

Parade’s End (as social climber Macmaster), The Secret Agent

(as Inspector Heat) and the recent

Decline And Fall

(as butler Solomon Philbrick, right). He plays Trotter in the upcoming movie adaptation of classic First World War stage play Journey’s End.