Steven Graham’s acclaimed four-part miniseries Adolescence, which he both wrote and starred in, left a deep impression on parents worldwide. Just before sitting down with Graham for our interview at a grand London hotel, a woman stopped me in the lobby and asked to pass along a message: “Please tell him he changed the lives of many parents in Britain.” When the message was relayed to Graham, he paused, placed a hand over his heart, and said emotionally to the crew in the room, “She’s talking about Adolescence.”
The miniseries, for those who haven’t seen it, centers on a 13-year-old boy (played by Owen Cooper) arrested on suspicion of murdering a classmate. It tackles themes of toxic masculinity, online radicalization and the impact of internet subcultures on adolescents — particularly incel ideology and the manosphere. The show was nominated for 13 Emmys and won four, including Best Lead Actor for Graham.
'Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere' junket
(Credit: Courtesy of Forum Film)
In his acceptance speech, Graham said: “This sort of thing doesn’t normally happen to a kid like me. I’m just a mixed-race kid from a block of flats in a place called Kirkby, so for me to be here today in front of my peers and to be acknowledged by you is the utmost humbling thing I could ever imagine in my life and it shows you that any dream is possible.”
Graham’s career began to gain traction in the late 1990s with his role in Guy Ritchie’s Snatch, followed by appearances in Band of Brothers, Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York, Public Enemies and Boardwalk Empire, where he played Al Capone. His most iconic role remains that of skinhead Combo in This Is England (2006). Known as a gifted character actor, Graham is finally enjoying the global recognition he deserves — thanks largely to the success of Adolescence.
But the occasion for this interview is his latest role: portraying Douglas Springsteen, father of Bruce, in Scott Cooper’s new biopic Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere. Graham stars opposite Jeremy Allen White (The Bear), who plays the young rock legend. The film focuses on a specific period in Bruce Springsteen’s life in the early 1980s, when he was creating the album Nebraska. Also featured are Jeremy Strong (Succession) as manager Jon Landau, and Odessa Young as Springsteen’s muse, Faye.
In a recent Variety interview, Springsteen praised Graham’s portrayal of his father: “He really embodied the physicality and emotional complexity of my father.”
Visibly moved by the compliment, Graham responded: “That's beyond my comprehension. When somebody says that, especially the man whose father it was, there's really not many words you can say to them.”
He continued, “It was a very difficult relationship that the two of them shared. Because of Bruce’s father, Doug's, upbringing. He didn't have a blueprint to be a father because he had no father himself. He wasn't a very tactile man. Bruce told me, ‘I knew he loved me, but I never felt like he loved me. He never told me he loved me until we were near the end.’”
At the time Bruce Springsteen was growing up, mental illness and depression — especially among men — were not topics people discussed. How did that affect things?
“Absolutely, they weren’t talked about at all,” says Graham. “We have to recognize that it was a completely different era. Back then, most men — especially from the area that they were from, very similar to my upbringing — were blue-collar workers, with a working-class mentality. They were going to work very early in the morning, do a full day's work, probably go to the pub, to the bars, have a couple of drinks, then come home, have dinner, go to bed and repeat the cycle. It was that traditional mentality to just keep going. Communication, which we have today, wasn't there. It was completely lacking.”
Graham says he understands the lessons Springsteen learned from growing up in the shadow of such a father. “Bruce’s journey, for me, is one of an understanding and an empathetic nature that develops as he gets older himself and reflects on his own experience,” he explains. “He comes to see that his father was someone who suffered hugely from depression and was also an alcoholic. In the final scene that Jeremy and I share in the film, Bruce has the opportunity to reconcile the past. He has the opportunity to break that spiritual malady, move forward and make amends with his father, so the relationship can develop. He then makes sure that he stops that cycle, so he can become a wonderful father himself.”
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Jeremy Allen White, from 'Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere'
(Photo: Courtesy of Forum Film)
Recently, it was announced that Graham is co-authoring a book with psychologist Orly Klein that will compile letters from fathers to their sons, exploring masculinity and the challenges of raising boys today. When asked about the recurring theme of father-son relationships in his work — from Adolescence to Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere, and now this book — he nods: “Thank you for recognizing that.”
“There are a couple of reasons I'm passionate about it,” Graham explains. “I’m 52, in the final stretch of the golf course of my life. But I’m looking forward to this part because it's all sunny now. I’ve had the rain, the snow, hail and sleet, and now I want to enjoy it. I want to take my time and really enjoy each shot, be in the moment. Every single footstep that I'm going to spend on this course, for the remaining nine holes, I’m going to give it the attention it deserves.”
“You don't have to have big, deep, meaningful conversations,” he continues. “It’s enough to just sit down and watch TV together, or go to the park, teach your kids to ride a bike. It’s the interaction that matters. For me, nothing is more cathartic than writing a letter, whether with a pen or on a computer, it doesn’t matter. The act of writing, putting your emotions down and letting that person see them, that’s a gift. I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to create a book and leave it as my legacy.”
Unlike Graham, who was personally selected for the role of Doug Springsteen by director Scott Cooper — who insisted Graham was the only actor who could do it — 27-year-old actress Odessa Young had to fight for her role. A self-professed Springsteen superfan, she admits she went after any role she could get in the film.
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Odessa Young and Jeremy Allen White, from 'Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere'
(Photo: Courtesy of Forum Film)
“I heard the film was happening ages ago, even before Scott [Cooper] came on board, so I called my agent and said: ‘No matter what, I must be in it — any role.’ She phoned the producers and they told her: ‘You’re crazy, nothing’s happening yet, calm down.’ Then Scott wrote the script, and I got the usual audition call. I sent in a tape and really thought I’d blown it — but apparently I hadn’t. And here we are,” she laughs.
In interviews, Australian actress Odessa Young said her love for Springsteen started in childhood — her parents were big fans and passed their devotion on to her. When “Thunder Road” plays during our talk, she smiles: “My dad and I perform it at Christmas parties he hosts. It’s one of the greatest songs. Without a doubt, Bruce is the best artist to listen to on the open road in country‑style, roof down, full speed.”
Young plays Faye, a composite character representing several women in Springsteen’s life at that time.
They say "don’t meet your heroes," but I assume you met Bruce. What was your impression?
“With Bruce, it’s different,” she says, smiling widely. “He absolutely is the exception. He’s one of the most elegant, gentlemanly people I’ve ever met. He’s simply wonderful.”
Young, whose credits include A Million Little Pieces, Assassination Nation and the new drama The Narrow Road to the Deep North opposite Jacob Elordi, recently wrapped shooting Harmonia with Israeli Oscar‑winner Guy Nattiv (“Golda”, “Tatami”) and co‑writer Noa Berman-Herzberg. The mystery drama is inspired by Nattiv’s grandmother’s entanglement with a secretive cult. Alongside Young will star Carrie Coon (The White Lotus), Bella Ramsey (The Last of Us) and Lily James (Cinderella). Young smiles when asked about the film: “I’m really looking forward to seeing it. Guy did a fantastic job. Please send him my love.”