Stephen Graham is a much-loved actor across the silver screen and beyond, particularly known for his role as Andrew “Combo” Gascoigne in This Is England.
But the thug like character he portrays in the hit Channel 4 show could not be further from Stephen’s own selfless and kind persona, which was displayed by Stephen’s offer of a helping hand to co-star Thomas Turgoose when it was most needed.
During filming of This is England back in 2006, Stephen met 13-year-old Thomas, who played leading character Shaun Fields.
As we previously reported, in the film, young Shaun is taken in by a gang of skinheads including the sociopathic Combo – who is played by Graham.
The duo filmed multiple scenes together, creating a father like bound, until Shaun realised exactly what kind of person Combo was.
Before the film was released, Thomas’s mother Sharon died of cancer, with the film being dedicated to her, as she didn’t live to see her son’s acting debut.
“My mum passed away from lung cancer after I finished filming This Is England. She never got to see the finished film,” Thomas told the Private Parts podcast.
“Shane Meadows dedicated the film to my mum. Stephen Graham promised my mum he’d look out for me. Everyone involved in This is England are family to me.”
Thomas was set to go and live with his father after his mother passed. However, he didn’t know him very well then.
Stephen and director Shane offered to take Thomas in and look after him themselves, if the living arrangement with his father never worked.
“When my mum died, I moved in with my dad and I didn’t know him, so Shane Meadows and Steven Graham were going to adopt me if things didn’t work out with my dad.”
The bond between Stephen and Thomas has never gone away, when Thomas married his long-term partner Charlotte Revell in 2018, Stephen and the rest of the This Is England co-stars attended the ceremony.
He was joined by his on-screen mum Jo Hartley (Cynth), Vicky McClure (Lol), Andrew Shim (Milky), Andrew Ellis (Gadget).
Sharing a snap of him with his new wife joined by his co-stars, writing on Instagram: “Family.”
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