Stephen Graham made an incredible gesture to the teen actors who didn’t get the role of Jamie in Netflix’s Adolescence.
The gritty four-part drama stars 15-year-old Owen Cooper as Jamie Miller, a schoolboy whose descent into online radicalization leads to an unspeakable crime.
The show has been praised not only for its raw storytelling and emotional impact, but for the powerful performances from its cast — especially Cooper in his first-ever acting role.
But according to Stephen Graham, who plays Jamie’s father Eddie, there’s a story behind the casting process that’s just as compelling, per the Metro.
Speaking at Netflix’s Next on Netflix event, Graham and director Philip Barantini revealed they had narrowed the role of Jamie down from hundreds of young actors to just four contenders.
While Cooper ultimately landed the lead, the other finalists were far from forgotten.
“We narrowed it down to four boys. There was hundreds – hundreds, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds. We got it down to these last four, but I think what we did is something that’s never really been done before,” said Graham, who also co-wrote the series.
“We were conscious not to go, ‘Thank you very much and see you later, ta rah.’ We knew that we wanted one kid, but the other four that we’d got down to our final selection, we gave them the opportunity to play all the characters within our piece.”
Stephen explained that the boys weren’t asked to audition again — they were simply offered roles in the drama.
“What you’re explaining from that very beginning is this is not down to your talents or your ability. It’s just that you don’t fit this particular thing that we’re looking for now.
“But we would like to offer you another role, and each and every one of the kids were absolutely superb, weren’t they? All of the kids within our piece are fantastic,” he said.
Barantini added: “We have actors who’ve done a few bits and bobs, but also kids who’ve never acted before. And Owen was one of those kids.”
He recalled watching Owen’s self-tape and immediately knowing “he had something. He’s so spontaneous, and he’s listening. He’s not thinking about acting. He’s not acting, he’s just being.”
As for Cooper, the emotional depth he brought to Jamie was no accident. Speaking with Variety, he revealed the intense moment Graham helped unlock a new level in his performance.
“Obviously, Stephen was always checking in on me,” Cooper said. “But there was a time in episode one, when it was just us two, with no camera, in the police cell, and he scruffed me up and said ‘you’re never going to see your mum again, you’re never going to see your dad again,’ and was going on and on.
“Before then I’d been frustrated because I hadn’t been getting emotional. But after that point I was emotional in every take. So that helped me a lot. He was amazing to work with.”
Erin Doherty, who plays Briony, also praised Cooper for his performance during their most intense scene together — a pre-trial assessment that goes from calm to terrifying.
“It’s every actor’s dream to get to a place where you forget yourself and you are in this strange reality that you’ve created,” she told Variety. “It sounds bizarre, but you genuinely do believe it in the moment if the person opposite you is doing their job and you’re doing yours.
“I’m so proud of Owen because I got to see him push himself as an actor, to really go there,” she continued.
“Back then, he was this kid and he didn’t want to be this scary thing, especially with someone he just met. So we really had to work on creating this safe space to let him know that he’s going to be fine.
“To think about that kid versus the one that turned up in that 11th take, and push those buttons and pushed himself, I’m just so proud.”
