If you watched the Emmy Awards last Sunday, then you’ve probably heard of the British limited series “Adolescence” that swept up a whole bunch of wins at the glitzy event. Owen Cooper made history by being the youngest actor to win the award for Supporting Actor, and the show’s lead actor, Stephen Graham, won his first-ever Emmy for Lead Actor in his seasoned 30-year acting career.
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But when Graham got on stage to give his acceptance speech, there was one fact he revealed about himself that had the internet shook.
“This kind 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 Kirby,” Graham started his speech.
Folks online could not hide their surprise at learning that the incredible “white presenting”British actor comes from a mixed background. In fact, one user on TikTok recorded themselves looking up Stephen Graham’s heritage on Google to confirm this fact.
Though by first impressions you might not have thought that Graham comes from a mixed background, he has a Jamaican grandfather and grew up with a Black stepfather, according to The Daily Mail. And the actor has never shied away from speaking about his Black heritage.
In fact, earlier this year, Graham spoke with British GQ about the difficulties he felt playing a racist character in the British drama film “This is England,” and how it brought up horrible memories of suffering racist abuse growing up mixed-race.
“…I’m mixed race. So being called those things (racist slurs) as a kid, and seeing my father get called those names (slurs) that I said (in the movie) was kind of difficult. But you have to just jump into it and go to where that character would go, and you have to eliminate your own moral compass or your own thought process.”
The role took such a toll on the actor’s mental health that he used alcohol to relieve some of the pressure of playing a racist character, according to British newspaper The Sun.
On X, one user commented that it was funny that people are only just becoming aware of Graham’s mixed heritage, considering that the actor has often spoken about upbringing.
But now that folks online are aware of Stephen Graham’s Black heritage, they’re considering his Emmy just another win for the Black community.
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