At Sunday night's Critics Choice Awards, actor Stephen Graham turned his moment of professional triumph into a heartfelt public tribute to his wife, Hannah Walters. Winning for his role in the Netflix hit Adolescence, Graham's acceptance speech left the A-list audience in stitches before striking a deeply emotional chord, continuing what fans have called a 'love letter' to his partner throughout this awards season.
A partnership forged in crisis and sacrifice
The Liverpool-born actor, now 50, has been remarkably open about the pivotal role Hannah has played in his life, crediting her with saving him during a severe mental health crisis in his early twenties. Stephen revealed on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs in 2019 that he attempted to take his own life at age 20, surviving only because the rope he used snapped. It was during this harrowing period that Hannah, then a fellow drama student, became his rock.
"This is kind of where Hannah came into my life properly," Graham recalled. "She knew what had happened. She was always in close contact with my mum." The couple, who met in the 1990s at Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance in Sidcup, Kent, solidified their bond after Hannah announced plans to move to Spain. Realising the depth of his feelings, Graham confessed his love, and the pair moved in together the very next day, beginning a partnership that has lasted decades.
As they started a family, welcoming daughter Grace, now 19, and son Alfie, 17, they faced the financial instability of two acting careers. It was Hannah who made the conscious choice to step back. "I’ve always kind of taken a little bit of a backseat," she told The i Paper in 2022. "Stephen has had more of a prolific career, and when we were both starting out, one of us needed to get a normal job. Acting doesn’t help pay the mortgage when you’re young."
From personal support to professional powerhouse
Hannah Walters's support extends far beyond the domestic sphere. She reads scripts to Stephen due to his dyslexia and has become an integral part of his professional success. The couple co-founded Matriarch Productions, a joint venture that has yielded significant critical acclaim.
Their production company was behind the 2021 single-take film Boiling Point, which received multiple BAFTA nominations, with Hannah serving as an executive producer. She also played a key role in developing their Disney+ boxing drama, A Thousand Blows, by presenting the idea to Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight. Most notably, Matriarch produced Adolescence, the show for which Graham won his Critics Choice Award, with Hannah making a cameo appearance and sharing in the awards season glory.
Stephen has consistently championed his wife's talent, suggesting her for a role in the 2021 prison drama Time. "I watched Hannah back in the day at drama school and always thought she was brilliant," he gushed. Hannah, keen to earn roles on her own merit, made him go through "proper channels," auditioning via tape and securing the part independently.
Awards season as a 'tender love letter'
This deep mutual respect and affection has been on full display during the recent awards circuit. At the Critics Choice ceremony, Graham joked with the audience, "I'm the only person I don't recognize in this room," before turning to his wife and saying, "See! I told you it was a good joke, Hannah!" The camera cut to Hannah playfully rolling her eyes, a moment of intimate humour that resonated with viewers.
Fans on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) were quick to celebrate the couple's dynamic. One viewer noted, "Stephen Graham just turned awards season into a love letter," while another wrote, "With pure heart, Stephen Graham just made awards season feel like a tender love letter."
The sentiment echoes Graham's emotionally raw acceptance speech at a previous Emmy Awards, where he told Hannah, "You are my rock, you are my world, you are my soulmate, and you know and I know, without you I would be dead." Now living in a modest £450,000 four-bedroom semi in Ibstock, Leicestershire, the couple have built a life and creative partnership that stands as a testament to resilience, sacrifice, and enduring love, proving that the greatest success stories are often written off-screen.
