Stephen Graham became tearful as he discussed his non-existent relationship with his biological father and being ‘raised’ by his stepdad. The award-winning Adolescence star, 53, was born in Kirkby, Lancashire, to mum Mary and biological father Stephen Kelly in 1973.
Estranged father and a stepdad who raised him
Kelly, who is half-Jamaican and half-Swedish, split from Mary when Stephen was young, and they are now no longer in contact. But the actor has made peace with that, he shared in a new interview, having always had a close relationship with his mum’s partner, Mike Fazakerley, who entered their lives in 1989.
Speaking about Kelly, he told The Times: ‘He was 17 [when he had me]; he didn’t know what he was doing. We don’t communicate, but that’s fine. I wish him no ill.’
A bond with ‘Pops’ and cultural heritage
Stephen was 10 when Mary began dating Mike, whom he affectionately calls ‘Pops’. The paediatric nurse has long praised his stepson publicly, with Stephen also crediting Mike, who is mixed-race, for teaching him about his cultural heritage.
‘He saw this little mixed-race lad with no father, basically a mirror image of what happened to him,’ he reflected. ‘I was blessed that he came into my life, and he is the man who raised me.’ ‘Pops fell in love with my mum, but he fell in love with me too,’ he added, his eyes welling up, the interviewer noted.
Stephen also has a half-brother, Nathan Fazakerley, thanks to his blended family, and he was joined by Nathan and Mike just a few months ago as he accepted the Mobo for best performance in a TV show/film. In his speech, the Liverpudlian, who is married to actress Hannah Walters and has two children with her, shouted out his loved ones: ‘On a personal level, my friends and family – you know who you are – thank you for helping me do something I can’t do on my own.’
Stepdad’s pride and a mother’s memory
Earlier this year, Mike lauded his stepson’s portrayal of Eddie Miller in the Owen Cooper Netflix drama, telling the Daily Mail that he is ‘highly proud of what [Stephen’s] achieved in his career and highly proud of what he’s doing now with Adolescence’. ‘I watch all his work, and I’ve watched Adolescence,’ he said. ‘Stephen is brilliant; he is a true talent. Unquestionably one of this country’s finest.’
Mike added that ‘the only downside’ is that Stephen’s mum ‘isn’t here to wallow in [his] glory’. Mary died in 2022, just days before Stephen’s OBE was announced. At the time, the This Is England star paid tribute to the ‘incredible, inspirational, warrior woman with the purest heart’. He added in his Instagram post that he was ‘proud’ to share his OBE with her, calling it an honour ‘for both of us’.
The Emmy and Golden Globe winner previously explained how Mike helped him find a ‘sense of cultural security’ as a child, educating him on Black history and introducing him to civil rights icons. His stepfather would also regularly take him to Quarry Green video shop in his hometown, which ignited his passion for film as a youngster.
Appearing on BBC’s Desert Island Discs in 2019, Stephen admitted he felt ‘slightly unsure where [he] fitted in’ as a child and struggled to feel like he ‘belonged’. ‘Sometimes I’d be accepted by my white cousins, and then my Black cousins wouldn’t really, you know what I mean? So it was kind of like, “Where do I belong?” [Mike] helped me see who I am, and [that] what I am is good enough. He helped me find my own way, and I got that sense of self in many respects from my mother, finding your own way.’
Throughout Adolescence’s incredibly successful award season run, Stephen took opportunities to platform his upbringing and champion his working-class roots. While accepting his Emmy Award, he hailed wife Hannah, 52, whom he married in 2008, as his ‘rock’ and ‘soulmate’, and declared: ‘This kind of thing doesn’t happen to a kid like me.’ ‘I’m just a mixed-race kid from a block of flats in a place called Kirkby,’ he added. ‘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.’
