Featured Image Credit: Sonja Flemming/CBS via Getty Images
Topics: Film and TV, Stephen Graham, Celebrity, Adolescence
Callum Jones
Topics: Film and TV, Stephen Graham, Celebrity, Adolescence
Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.
Stephen Graham said he would be 'dead' without his wife, Hannah Walters, in what was an emotional speech at the Emmys on Sunday (September 14).
The British film star claimed the award for best actor in a limited or anthology series or movie as a result of his role in the brilliant Adolescence.
The four-part Netflix show dropped in March and quickly gained astonishing reviews. It follows the story of Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper), a 13-year-old schoolboy who is accused of murdering his female classmate.
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Graham - who plays Jamie's dad Eddie in Adolescence - took to the stage at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles for his acceptance speech, and thanked some of his nearest and dearest.
"My kids, Grace and Alfie, and my adorable wife who I love with every ounce of my being. You are my rock, you are my world, you are my soulmate, and you know and I know, without you I would be dead," he told the crowd and the millions watching at home.
"From the bottom of my heart, I love you with everything I have. Namaste everyone, thanks very much."
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs in 2019, Graham opened up about his mental health struggles in his youth, explaining how difficult he found things after moving down to London to chase his dreams.
"[My parents] were trying to see what was happening with me. I’ll never forget the tears coming down both their faces," the actor recalled.
"Then the next day I tried to hang myself. It was very calculated. I had to put on a high-neck jumper. My mum kind of saw it. Then everything came out. Life was worth living thankfully."
The 52-year-old met Walters - who co-produced Adolescence - at drama school in the 90s a short time after, but their relationship didn’t come to fruition until many years later.
Walters was living in Spain for a while and returned to the UK with plans to move over there for good.
Back then, Graham didn't quite know what he wanted from a relationship, but Walters moving away was the wake-up call he needed.
He said: "She went to Spain for a little bit and I couldn't see her, and she was going to move out there.
"She came back and we hadn't been on a date in these five years, six years, just talking lots. And I said 'Can I take you on a date?'"
Graham added: "She went 'What?' And we went to see Saving Private Ryan, had a bite to eat in Greenwich and we were at New Cross train station and I said 'Please don't go to Spain'.
"She asked 'Why?' and I said 'Well, I love you.' She said she'd been waiting five years for me to say that.
“And the next day we moved in together. And we've been together ever since."
If you or someone you know is struggling or in a mental health crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.
If you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Helpline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.