Stan, from Friday
Itâs almost impossible to imagine this riveting, emotionally devastating mini-series without Stephen Graham at its centre. Singularly fearsome, vulnerable and magnetic, Graham has delivered brilliant performances on both sides of the Atlantic, not least in Shane Meadowsâ 2006 film
This Is England (Stan) and its television sequels. And heâs never been better than in this four-part mini-series, which reunites him with Meadows once more.
Stephen Graham plays Joseph in British mini-series The Virtues, streaming locally on Stan.
Credit:Stan
Graham plays Joseph, a Liverpudlian painter and decorator on the verge of a nervous breakdown. In heartbreakingly tender scenes we see Joseph saying goodbye to his young son, whose mother is taking him to live in Australia, and then see him trying to drown his sorrows in a self-destructive night out on the town.