If there's one thing about Stephen Graham (and Jack Thorne, and Philip Barantini for that matter), he likes to keep it in the family. After landing his breakthrough role as Combo in This Is England in 2006, Graham has often worked with the same cast of actors. In fact, he married one of them, Hannah Walters, and he often works with her too.
In his latest four-part crime drama, Adolescence, about a 13-year-old boy charged with the murder of his classmate, the story is no different. Directed by Boiling Point's Barantini, which Graham and Walters both starred in, and co-written by Thorne, who wrote the three spin-off series of This Is England as well as several other projects with Graham, the series features a medley of familiar faces – as well as a few new ones.
Following widespread critical acclaim, it's likely we will see the entire ensemble cast again soon...
The Adolescence cast and where you've seen the actors before
Stephen Graham as Eddie Miller
As well as This is England and Boiling Point, Graham has had starring roles in Snatch, Blitz, Bodies, Matilda: The Musical, Peaky Blinders, Help and A Thousand Blows. He is widely considered one of the best actors in the UK and makes a conscious effort to champion working class and minority voices in his work.
He co-wrote Adolescence with Jack Thorne after learning about the rising influence of Andrew Tate and 'incel culture' on teenage boys.
Owen Cooper as Jamie Miller
Although it's hard to believe off the back of his performance, Adolescence is Cooper's debut role. He was one of 400 boys to audition for the part of Jamie and has since been cast as young Heathcliff in Emerald Fennell's adaptation of Wuthering Heights. At only 15 years old, we can expect to see a lot more of him.
Graham also revealed that all the boys in the final selection to play Jamie were cast as other roles in the show.
Christine Tremarco as Manda Miller
Tremarco is an actress from Liverpool who has also starred in Emmerdale, Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story, The Gathering, The Widow and Wolfe.
Amelie Pease as Lisa Miller
Pease is another debut star from the Netflix series. Speaking about being cast she said, 'It was my first job and an absolute dream to film.'
Ashley Walters as DI Luke Bascombe
Walters needs no introduction. He most recently starred in Netflix's Harlan Coben series, Missing You, but he is best known for playing Dunshane in Top Boy. The actor is also in A Thousand Blows alongside Graham as well as Bulletproof and The Aliens.
Describing the single take filming style of Adolescence, Walters said 'it was intense'. 'You don't want to be the guy that drops the ball, right? You're into minute 40, you're nearly at the end, and your mind’s going, "Don't say it wrong."' Luckily, he didn't drop the ball once.
Faye Marsay as DS Misha Frank
Marsay can also be found acting in Ten Pound Poms, Andor, Lady Chatterley's Lover, Pride, Deep Water, Black Mirror and Darkest Hour - to name but a few. She is best recognised, however, for playing The Waif in Game of Thrones.
Mark Stanley as Paul Barlow
As well as playing the government provided solicitor after Jamie's arrest, Stanley has starred in Trigger Point (with This is England star, Vicky McClure), A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story, The Reckoning, Happy Valley, Honour and Anne Boleyn.
Jo Hartley as Mrs Fenumore
Hartley, who plays the lower school teacher tasked with showing the police officers around the school in Adolescence, is another This is England alumnae. She played Shaun's mum Cynthia in the film and series. She has also acted in Eddie the Eagle, Silent Witness, Passenger, After Life and Dead Man's Shoes.
Hannah Walters as Mrs Bailey
Walters also played a teacher in Adolescence and was seen comforting the best friend of Katie Leonard, the girl who was killed in the series, in one moving scene in episode two. As well as starring in Boiling Point, A Thousand Blows, Malpractice (also directed by Barantini), Time and PRU, Walters has been married to Graham since June 2008.
They met while training to be actors at the Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance in London and have two children together, a daughter called Grace, 20, and a son called Alfie, 18.
Erin Doherty as Briony Ariston
Doherty was part of a mammoth sequence in episode three, which is set seven months after Jamie's arrest, where she is performing a psychological assessment on him to assist the judge. While we can expect to see a lot more of Doherty in the near future, she is already well known for playing Princess Anne in The Crown and for starring in Reawakening, Intelligent Design and A Thousand Blows.
Adolescence is available to stream on Netflix
Nikki Peach is a writer at Grazia UK, working across pop culture, TV and news. She has also written for the i, i-D and the New Statesman Media Group and covers all things TV for Grazia (treating high and lowbrow shows with equal respect).