Stephen Graham is one of Liverpool's most famous exports, with a glittering career on the stage, in cinemas and on our TV screens.
Born in Kirkby in August 1973, Stephen's career has gone from strength to strength and he now has an estimated net worth of £8 million.
The Merseyside-born dad of two has shared the big screen with a number of Hollywood A-listers and has been building his fortune since he began his acting career in the 1990s.
READ MORE: Time actor Stephen Graham's net worth at 47
But the 47 year old dad-of-two has overcome major personal struggles in his life, including battles with depression and a suicide attempt.
We took a look back at Stephen's life and career from his Kirkby roots to becoming a national treasure.
Facing racism on the streets of Kirkby
Stephen was born in Kirkby and his biological dad was half Jamaican and half Swedish.
He has previously spoken about his experiences of suffering racist abuse on the streets of Liverpool, which his mother quickly put a stop to. He also revealed he was unsure of his place in the world as a mixed-race child.
Stephen said: "I'm mixed race and that was kind of frowned on in those days.
"There were times growing up when I was slightly unsure where I fitted in.
"That n-word popped up when I was younger."
He attended Overdale Primary School in Kirkby, where he was encouraged to pursue acting at the age of eight after Blood Brothers star Andrew Schofield saw him perform as Jim Hawkins in a school production of Treasure Island.
He studied at Ruffwood Comprehensive before being introduced to Liverpool's Everyman Theatre at 14 and going on to train at the Rose Bruford College of Theatre & Performance.
Battle with depression and suicide attempt
Stephen has battled depression during his life and revealed that at one point in his early 20s he tried to take his own life.
He told The Sunday Times : " In my early twenties, I suffered from really bad depression and tried to take my own life once.
"Thankfully, the rope snapped and I’m here today.
"But I know the loneliness, isolation and feeling you can’t cope in the world."
Stephen said he tried to hide the marks around his neck with high-collar jumpers before the truth came out.
Speaking on Radio Four's Desert Island Discs, he said: "I had a breakdown. Going to that big London to do it on your own.
"Then I went back home. [My parents] were trying to see what was happening with me.
"I'll never forget the tears coming down both their faces.
"Then the next day I tried to hang myself. It was very calculated.
" I had to put on a high neck jumper. My mum kind of saw it. Then everything came out. Life was worth living thankfully."
It was after Stephen's suicide attempt that his wife Hannah Walters came into his life. He said: "This is kind of where Hannah came into my life properly.
"She knew what had happened. She was always in close contact with my mum."
Moving in with his wife after their first date
Speaking on Radio Four's Desert Island Discs, Stephen said he and his wife Hannah moved in together in south London after what was technically their first date.
He said that after a long period of "just talking" they had not been on a proper date, something he eventually remedied when she was due to move to Spain.
He said: "We were waiting at New Cross train station and I said to her 'please don't go to Spain. I love you'.
"She went 'I've been waiting for five years for you to say that'. The next day we moved in together."
Stephen and Hannah were hailed as "a powerhouse" acting couple in the must-see prison drama Time, where they played a husband and wife.
Their appearance as husband and wife in the BBC One three-parter – which was filmed in and around Liverpool – was their 10th joint screen outing.
Director Lewis Arnold said: "They were amazing – they switched it on instantly. Their chemistry is just extraordinary, it's infectious as well for the crew.
"Everyone just loves working with them and looks forward to them being on set because they're such a joy as a couple… but also as a powerhouse of cinema."
The pair – who first met at drama school in the 90s and grew closer on the set of 2006 film This Is England – are clear what drives that chemistry.
Hannah, 46, says: "Twenty eight years we’ve known each other. I'm going to be honest – the secret is that it's me fancying my best mate.
"I want to kill him at times… but I just adore him."
Stephen told an online Q&A about the show: "I watched Hannah back in the day at drama school and always thought she was brilliant.
"Watching her read, doing scenes with her over the course of our time together, and also while she's been a working actress, I've been blown away. I just think, 'Wow… she is amazing'.
"There are selftakes I've done with Hannah when she's auditioned for parts and she's always got down to the last two for big roles.
"It always comes down to that clichéd thing that they’ve gone for someone more well-known."
Explaining the secret to their happy relationship, Stephen said: "You have to apologise when you're wrong and be accountable for your action within the relationship."
Hannah's roles have tended to be smaller, but often alongside Stephen.
In Shane Meadows' gritty drama This Is England, he played skinhead thug Combo while she had a part as a shoe shop assistant.
They also both appeared in three TV spin-offs, and in 2011 Pirates of the Caribbean movie On Stranger Tides and 2017 sequel Salazar's Revenge.
Stephen and Hannah are parents to Grace, 16, and Alfie, 14. The couple live in Ibstock, Leicestershire, having previously lived in the Beckenham area of London.
Starting out in the industry and landing his biggest roles
Stephen grew up in a film-loving family and began his career at Liverpool's Everyman Theatre aged 17, in the challenging role of a young man with HIV.
He soon picked up TV roles including walk-on parts on Coronation Street, Heartbeat and The Bill.
Stephen has previously starred in This is England, where he played Andrew ‘Combo’ Gascoigne.
He’s also appeared in Snatch, Public Enemies, The Damned United and Pirates of the Caribbean.
From 2010 to 2015 he starred as Al Capone in Boardwalk Empire.
Stephen's performances alongside Leonardo Di Caprio in Gangs of New York and Al Pacino in The Irishman have brought him critical acclaim.
His most recent roles have taken him to TV, playing undercover police officer John Corbett in Line of Duty and prison guard Eric McNally alongside Sean Bean in the hit BBC prison drama Time.
He also returned to Merseyside to play PC Dave Kelly in ITV drama Little Boy Blue which told the story of the murder of schoolboy Rhys Jones and his family's fight for justice.
On April 29, the Line of Duty star was revealed to be making an appearance in Peaky Blinders.
The tweet which revealed the news and showed a picture of Graham, said: “We’re thrilled that @StephenGraham73 has joined the cast of #PeakyBlinders series 6."
Helping Jodie Comer's acting career
When fellow Scouse star Jodie Comer won her BAFTA award for Killing Eve in 2019, she thanked Graham for introducing her to his agent and subsequently making her career possible.
In an interview for BAFTA ahead of the 2020 virtual awards ceremony, the Liverpool actors opened up about their connection to one another.
Stephen said: "Me and Jodie worked together years ago - we met on a production called..."
Jodie interjected to help when Stephen couldn't recall the name of the drama.
She pointed her finger at the camera and said: "Good Cop."
Stephen said: "Yeah, Good Cop - it came to me eventually.
"Jodie had a small part... and she was just magnificent to work with and I just saw her talent immediately and I just said to her, 'look, I think you've got an amazing talent and if I could, is there any way I could get your number - don't worry, I'm happily married and all that, do you know what I mean?'"
Stephen said he would speak to his agent on Jodie's behalf, before introducing the pair.
Jodie's career took a life-changing turn following the introduction to Stephen's agent, Jane Epstein.
Ms Epstein had a meeting with Jodie and later became her agent, which kickstarted her acting career and lead to the audition for role of Villanelle.
In Jodie's 2019 acceptance speech, she said she owed Stephen a pint.
And the pair will be back on our screens together soon in Channel 4 film Help, which is based in a fictional Liverpool care home.
The film tells the moving story of the relationship between a young care home worker (Jodie Comer) and a patient (Stephen Graham), whose lives are changed forever by the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
