SmartLess - "Stephen Graham"

Episode Date: June 23, 2025

Grab your extra-icy Arnold Palmer… it’s Mr. Stephen Graham. Topics may include: Scouse, scavenger hunts, parachute pants, and the risk of pretension. So load up your Dopp kit, and as always, thank you for flying the friendly skies with Air SmartLess. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of SmartLess ad-free and a whole week early. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.

Hey guys, good morning. I'm drinking some tea. What do you got? Uh, spit? Spit in my mouth? That's about it. Welcome to Smartless. Lattice. Smart. Lattice. Smart. Lattice. Hey, what do you got, do you call it a toiletry bag or do you call it a dop, is it dop kit, D-O-P?

D-O-P is in fall? We went through this on stage in front of thousands of people. Oh, I don't remember things. Wait, but what is? Do you not remember? No. We were on tour, we were in Washington, D.C., it was our first night.

Yeah, and we got Sam Jones as a gift, right? Didn't we? I don't remember that part. I don't remember gifting him anything. Oh, look who's memory's a little soft. No. No. No.

No. But what does Dopp-Kit mean, D-O-P? It's German, right, for toiletry stuff. It's German, man. Remember, somebody in the audience yelled it out and they said it's German. I forget how it came about. Anyways, yes, D-O-P-P, Dopp-Kit. Hey, why, go ahead. Go ahead. and they said, I forget how it came about.

Anyways, yes, DOPP, Dopp kit. I can't sleep. Guys, real quick, the word was coined by leather worker Charles Doppelt who patented the idea of Dopp's in 1919 and marketed them locally before landing a contract with the US Army during WWII. And that he was a German? Leatherworker, I think he was American. Let's see. Well, it sounds German.

More to come next episode. Trust Doppel, D-O-P-P-E-L-T, yeah, yeah, yeah. Now I'm looking at it too. I also have the internet, Bennett. So. Congrats, guys. It's like when we get back, you know when we brought this up before, people go, I did my own research,

like oh you've got Google, fuck off. Yeah, exactly. Takes like five seconds. So last night. Oh sorry Sean, we were trying to get to some business. Sean's like, yeah I know, takes five seconds. So my story that I've got ready. No, I was actually serious about like that,

I can't stop clearing my throat. I don't know why. Does that mean I'm getting sick? I don't know. Or do you want to reschedule today's recording? No, no. It might be the smoke from the Canadian fires. I think that's the Toronto Maple Leafs fans still

being a handful up there. What happened? Did they win? Dude, dude, we don't need to get the fucking shots fired over there. Are they not doing well? It's, they've, that's an understatement. It's been a minute. It's been a tough, I haven't mentioned it since. It's been a while but they lost again in another game seven and it was really good. Boy, that, that, I can't believe it seven and it was really good to take that off.

I can't believe it, I still haven't talked to you about it. I watched all three periods of you and Biz doing your commentary on that game with your blazers on. I can't, I mean I sat there, I had the clicker in my hand the whole time, never punched it, just watched you two I want to see it. Flather on.

I didn't see it. You know what the best part was, and I took a shot at you because I said, Baby was supposed to be here, he's like literally a mile away. I was less than a mile away, still just smiling at you saying, yeah, you know, he might even stop by during this.

And I was just like laughing at myself. That's not going to happen. DJs. But you know, the best part was, they go, do you guys want to go do this? And Biz and I were like, yeah, let's do it. And we get there, we do the pregame, and then we go to this other studio

to start this kind of alt-cast thing. And then just the dude goes, in five, four, three. And I'm like, hey everybody, we had no plan, you can tell. Oh really? And then we had like, luckily. And you just commented on this game? Yeah, we just talked. They're just literally watching the game

along with the audience at home. That's fun. And doing their own commentary. And we just commented on this game. Yeah, we just talked. Literally watching the game along with the audience at home. That's fun. And doing their own commentary. We had Charles Barkley kindly called in. He was amazing. He was great, yeah. He was hilarious. And then our buddy Al Michaels.

Yeah, also amazing. Also amazing. Sorry, Sean, do you think Charles Barkley's a singer? I always think he's the singer, right? Isn't there a singer named Charles Barkley? Narles Barkley. Do you think it might have gone the other way? Oh, Narles Barkley. Yeah, you think maybe Nar have gone the other way? Oh, Narls Barkley.

You think maybe Narls got it from Charles. Do you think Arnold Palmer the golfer gave himself the name after the drink? Sweet Sean. Hey, by the way, Sean, think about how sweet Sean is. Franny, my eldest listener, she had a scavenger hunt last night and I guess one of the boxes they had to check

was get a picture with a celebrity. And Sean was nice enough to stay up until- Introduce them to some celebrities? That'd be so nice. Right this way. 1030, 1045 or something, she drove over to your house with all of her friends and took a shot of you? Yeah, I'm like, what's going on with your dad?

Can't you just take a shot with him? I guess I don't count. I guess you didn't count because of that. Now, did you go through the works before they got over there? Were you, was your hair and your makeup was all set? Check out that photo. It's horrible.

I look like I'm 95 years old. Oh, so you checked it. You said, let me see it. Yeah, well, I did it myself. Because you know, when somebody stops and asks for a photo, which is so kind, I always grab the phone. I said, let me take it because it takes me two seconds

to open the phone. Otherwise, it takes half an hour for them to wait. I got to find my phone icons. I said, let me take it because it takes me two seconds to open the phone, otherwise it takes half an hour for them. Wait, I gotta find my phone icon. I'm like, just give it to me. And so I took it with all them, because it's a scavenger hunt, so you only have five seconds. So I said, everybody stand behind.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, I don't know that rule. What are you talking about? Well, it's a scavenger hunt. You gotta get your thing and you gotta go. Oh, oh, gotcha, okay. The thing and the list and then go. So, but I had to hang out with them for like five, 10 minutes because their friends were in another car.

Anyway, who cares? And I took a photo of myself and it didn't look great. But Franny's the sweetest. I hope this is gonna be in your book. I mean, that's riveting. You know, you're telling me that story about grabbing everybody's phone and taking the picture of yourself all the time.

And I immediately go to all the germs that I would be taking on my hands by touching everybody else's phone. You know it's the dirtiest thing in your life? Your iPhone? Well, I think your mouth is. No, it's dirtier than your toilet seat. Again, I just want to point out,

are you watching people drop dead on the street or something? Because we're all fine. No, it's just a gross factor. I'm not worried about getting sick. I did though, but I did want, Franny texted me earlier in the day. She's like, are you going to be up like about between 10th and 11th?

I'm like, yeah. And then, and I'm watching the Osama Bin Laden documentary and I'm completely falling asleep. As you do. It was really interesting. So good. And I, yeah, it's amazing. Oh really?

And it's so interesting. And then I'm just falling asleep on the couch in McSky, I go to sleep, I'm going to fall asleep. And she's like, we're here. I was like, oh God, and the doorbell rang. I freaked out and I went outside. And then my phone goes up at like one in the morning. And she's like, are you still up?

Because I think they needed something else. I needed to be. Yeah. Oh no. And then I just text her. That's like the worst are you Still Up text you can get. From Franny. You know what I mean?

On the scales of R U Still Up text. It's not what you think. Yeah, it's not what you think. Can we get a photo with you? Yeah, exactly. Maybe the photo was bad, but I was freaking out. I hope she won. Do you know if she won?

I have no idea. She hasn't surfaced yet. It's 940 this morning. Well, she went to bed at like three in the morning. We should do a smartless scavenger hunt. I would love that. I love a scavenger hunt. I do too. That would be super fun. Yeah.

So how would that work? The three of us would be individually against one another? No, no, no. It's not for us. It's for our fans. It's for, you know, for people who like listen to podcasts and then we have like a whole, yeah. God, that sounds like a lot of work. What's the prize? You're so angry about it.

A Dopp kit. A Dopp kit. Oh, a smart Dopp kit. Nice. It's a Dopp kit. And because you wrapped it up with such a nice bow, Willie, we're going to move on to our guest today. Beautiful.

Oh, nice. Who's this? Is it yours today, Seanny? Yes, yes. That's a delicious segue. Oh, you guys are going to love this, it's so exciting. He got his first big break by tagging along to a friend's audition and improvising his way

into the role, it was a big movie. He has such a thick Liverpool accent that fans don't often believe it's real. He used to tear up the streets as a teenage break dancer, so did I, and he's been punched, stabbed, and screamed at in more scenes than I can count, but somehow he's the most gentle guy in the room. I met him once on his native soil, the UK,

and I've been a fan ever since. It's the ridiculously talented and allegedly intimidating Stephen Graham. Hey, Stephen Graham! Woo! Hello! Hello, gentlemen. Good morning.

Look at that sweet face who would beat the shit out of me. That was a world-class reveal. It was just so dramatic. It was great. And oftentimes, they're very much. Thank you. That was very good. Now, Will, do you want to get started

on the Liverpool football club conversation and get it out of the way? No, we're going to end on that. We're going to end on the glory on Liverpool. OK. I'm a massive supporter, Steven, a massive supporter, so we'll get to it. Nice, great. Can I jump in on the scavenger hunting?

Please, go nuts. I was at a mate's, because we were in LA for a little bit. I heard about this, because my wife was there at Guy's house, right? Yes. Guy Ritchie? Close. Well, let him tell the time.

Oh, wow. Go ahead. Yeah, yeah, yeah, the time. Oh wow. Go ahead. Yeah, yeah, yeah, my wife is Amanda. Amanda was there. She was probably the one that made your ears bleed just a little bit when you were wondering, why am I here? No, she was talking quietly in the corner

with somebody holding their arm. Oh yeah, or it was her. No, I did, yeah, she was lovely. What's the story, Steven? What happened? It was just, during the day, a friend, we went to his sister, she graduated. Correct.

And she was telling us about her scavenger hunt that she was going on. And I'll tell you what, there was a bit risky some of the stuff that they get really high points for. Oh really, like what? Yeah, like I mean, eating a bagel off a man's penis. No way.

Not risking it. That's Jason. Isn't that true? Jason, did you win that? Did you win that one, Jason? Well, you know, you need to get a unit that'll actually fit inside that hole. And so... I just had that for breakfast today. Wait, Jason, Amanda was doing this? What's happening? It was a little bit more of a bi-ali for me, but...

Wait, that's crazy. Is that real, like crazy shit like that? Well, here at this party, right, Stephen, this was also get a picture with a celebrity, and at your party, there were some real celebrities there. Sean, I'll do respect. Sure, now I get it. We're talking about the tops in the business,

like Steven, and there was a whole group photo, so they got major points, I'm assuming. Yeah, because we went outside and took a photo. Yeah, but it was just when they were explaining to us in the morning what kind of things actually happen and how many points you get for certain things, it just got rather disgusting, I thought. Yeah, really?

My elder said to me when he was doing his a couple weeks ago, he said, hey, can I get my nose pierced because I'll get massive, and I was like, no. What? Yeah. Really? Get your nose pierced for points?

Yeah. I think one of the funniest ones was if you make out with one of the parents. Oh, parents, okay. Really? I self-wrote that in. You can read it. Yeah, I get it.

And he left his door open. What a forensic handwriting check for Jason on that one. It was also to drink a shot of certain bodily fluids as well, which is good. Oh, wow. Yeah, I know, yeah, I was disgusted. Jesus Christ. I thought, what the fuck are these young people doing

these days? I know. Wait, so Stephen, I'm gonna, this is somebody here in L.A.'s house's daughter? Yes. No, no,, I'm gonna need, this is somebody here in LA's house's daughter? Yes. No, no, no, no, no. No, it was a friend's sister who was telling me about, and my sister was telling us about what it was.

Wow. Now do you have kids, Stephen? I do, yeah, and thank God mine don't do any discovered shit. Well hang on, are they old enough yet? How old are they? Yeah, yeah, yeah, Alfie's 18 and Grace is 20. And so you're saying they never did anything like this

in high school? We just don't have that kind of behavior where I come from, Jason. I think they're- It's normal, that's normal, you're normal. I don't think they're being honest with you, Steven. Jason, one of the major things my children are is honest.

Now we do the Mooney, which is like, stick your ass out of a window, that's as far as we go. Right, right, right. What do you ever do, or against a window, which is a pressed ham? Well, yeah. Yeah. I've never heard of that.

That was always on a bus, though. That was on a bus, that one. On a bus, we would do the pressed ham. Yeah, you'd do that one on a bus. And then, but then the worst thing was you'd do it, and then the car that you did it to would pull alongside you later on in the traffic. And yeah, we used to do that when we'd go to football.

Yeah. What would be the name if you pressed it against the window and you spread it? What would be the name there? Oh God. Oh my God. Sliced ham. Yeah, there you go.

Thanks. That's what I'm here for. Steven, first of all, thanks for being here. By the way, I just found out this morning, I found this out this morning, first of all, congrats on your recent Gotham Award. And Adolescents is the second most watched show of all time on Netflix.

That's awesome. No way. Yeah, that's crazy. That's amazing. Well deserved. What an accomplishment. What an accomplishment. I mean, truly, I mean, and I know you've talked about this a lot, because I've seen it out there, and I watch the show, it's fantastic, you're fantastic've seen it out there and I've watched the show. It's fantastic, you're fantastic.

Also the co-creator of the show. Yeah, incredible. Which is no small feat. For people to understand, they might see the credit and the creator and you think like, okay, well, that's just another hat. It's the amount of work and thought and years and preparation that goes into just being

the creator of the show and then on top to being in it. And then on top of that, doing it, shooting it all in effect live in one shot is so impressive. So, and I know you've talked ad nauseum about that aspect of doing it, but for people to really understand what it takes to pull off doing an entire episode, each episode of that program live

as if it were happening, well, it was happening in real time and not just in one location, but getting into vehicles and moving to different locations. Everything that goes in that, the preparation that must've gone into that. When you came up with the idea of the show, was that part and parcel with it? Was it like, we're going to do this show,

tell this story, and we're going to do it this way? Well, to be honest with you, Will, we did a, the whole thing kind of began with me doing a favor for a friend, actually. My mate, Phil Barantini, he was an actor, and he just, one day, he just phoned me up, and he said, look, I really want to direct. Would you help me out in being a short film?

And I said no. Which is what you should do. I said no. He was like, well go make your first short film and then we'll have a look and then we'll talk again. Good for you. I don't want to be part of the experiment. Of course, but it's also, Jay, you know,

it's that kind of, show me what you can do first. Exactly. So he did, he went, and he made this beautiful, but also though, he was asking me if I would play the trainer to a boxer, and the lad who was going to play the main role was a boxer and an actor, and I said, well, doesn't Robbie have a trainer?

And he was like, yeah. I was like, well, just use Robbie's real fucking trainer. And he was like, well, I went, because he knows what he's doing. I said, has he got a good face? He went, yeah, he looks great. I went, well, cast him then. And he's like, oh.

Yeah, I got shit to do. That's a really good idea. I was like, yeah, just use him. They've got a relationship, so we did. Anyway, and it was really good. But to get to the point, Matt, who he'd met, the DOP had this glorious idea of doing a short film in one take, but setting it in a restaurant.

So again, Phil said, look, Matt's had this wonderful idea. I think it'd be really good, because Phil used to work in the restaurant industry. He was a chef for a long time. And it was just this concept about a shift at work, and this man going through a bit of, you know, lots of troubles at home and trying to navigate that in work. And also he has his own addictions and stuff.

So it was like, look, we'll shoot it in 22 minutes. That's how long the day is going to be. And I was like, that sounds great. How many days? And he went, five. I said, I'll give you three. He was like, oh, okay. I went, we can shoot it in three. So we did, we shot it in three.

And the primary purpose of it was to try and use it as a calling card to get Phil an agent. So I give it to my agent, she sent it around the office and then literally within four to five days he was having meetings and he then got his agent, Jaygo. And that was how it happened. So it was all starting to do a favor for a friend and then Jaygo said, why don't we turn this into a feature?

So we did a little indie film called Boiling Point. And just to go to that, you never know what can happen from these things as we all know with this industry, you just don't know. Cut to three years down the line, four years down the line, we're sat at BAFTA and films nominated for best actor, the films up for best British film.

I'm nominated alongside Will Smith and Leonardo DiCaprio and Benedict Cumberbatch, all for doing a mate a favor. And so we had proof of concept with that particular piece and then we were asked if we would be interested in turning it into a television show. And that's basically how it all began. So then, Boiling Point is similar to the story in Adolescence?

It's a completely different story, but it's all shot in that one take format, and that's more controlled. It's an environment, it's all set in a restaurant, in a kitchen and in a restaurant, and it's this one particular shift. And I think the film is an hour and, maybe an hour and 15? And the thinking behind the creative effect

that you guys were aiming for by having it all intact in one take and not distracting the audience with any cuts whatsoever or coverage or anything like that, was what? Did you guys ever kind of put words to the purpose behind only one take, aside from just like the incredible rush, the creative challenge of that? I think that was it, basically, Jason, to be honest with you. It's that kind of trying to grab the audience's attention straight away.

And you have kids, I have kids, and we live in an age where we'll be watching a film, but yet they're still looking at the phones. And it's kind of like, put that down, we're trying to watch a film in many ways. Do you know what I mean? So it was that wanting to grab the audience's attention, but also make sure that it wasn to grab the audience's attention, it's like we all jump on a train doesn't have a purpose to move. It's like we all jump on a train and then we don't get off until we finish.

But for people to appreciate, and we all work in this medium so we understand, but to really appreciate the difficulty, not just the closing of the roads, not just the hiding crew and camera and all that kind of stuff, but the light changes, for instance. By the way, there is that, am I wrong? Did I, did I imagine it? There were light changes when the, your son, the actor's name is, is it Owen?

Owen Cooper, yeah. Oh, Owen Cooper, who's brilliant. Owen Cooper, when he gets moody, did the light darken in those moments? Am I right about that, or is that obvious, or? Owen Cooper is brilliant. the psychological aspect of it just changing slightly dramatically within the cell. Was that a lighting cue or was it an iris ride? It's a lighting cue kind of. It's a lighting cue within the police station,

within the cell when he's brought into the cell. I mean think about that JB. I mean think about making that call. So you're doing all that stuff, you have all these, and then in the moment you've got to get it right. There's basically a lighting cue in the middle of it. There's so many elements happening at once. The logistics.

Yeah, the logistics. Logistics. Yeah. We'll be right back. And now back to the show. And so the obvious question which I had, which how many takes did you do? I mean, I'd be so afraid to be the one to screw it up. Well, the beauty of it, I mean, and it was also,

look, it was beautifully written by Jack, Jack Thorne, our wonderful writer, who constructs the human condition so beautifully and so amazingly. And we had that kind of discussion right at the very beginning what it was going to be and how we were going to try to put this story across without pointing any fingers, but it's just that kind of accountability of parents,

maybe the parents are accountable. There's the school system, the education system, the society and the community where they live and also the government and also on top of that, you have the internet, which none of us had when we were kids. So we've never had to navigate that kind of thing. If an incident happened in school, it was kind of thing.

If an incident happened in school, it was kind of finished by the end of when the bell went, and then you'd pick it up again the next day. Hopefully it didn't continue too much. happening in school. director and just discuss the words. Yeah, well that's exactly what it is. It's that beautiful process of being a theater company and having this brand new script. So we take it to pieces. It's kind of like analyzing every single word like you would a Chekhov play and understanding the importance of it and why it's there and why it's being said.

of that week having a whole dress rehearsal. And by the end of that week, by that following Friday, we'll go for a little take, we'll see what happens. And then when you get back in on the Monday, we go for two takes a day. So you do one in the morning about half 10, have lunch, reset, and then come back again in the afternoon. So it's a beautiful experience. So ultimately we were looking at hopefully trying

to get 10 takes by the end of the week. But episodes two, 3 and 4 were all the final take of each one. Oh wow. So it was that final Friday. So I think take episode 2 was take 14. Wow. And it was the only time that the drone actually got attached to the camera, got attached to the drone, it flew up.

I don't know if you remember that in the school where it flies up in the air and then it comes down and then it gets taken by the camera department and it comes to where I'm stood with the flowers. It's insane, it's insane. Now imagine that though, Will. I mean, the wind had been shit, so we didn't have a take at all.

So it's the final Friday afternoon, and it's all going great. And I'm sat in the van, beating an executive producer, listening to Sarah on the radio, okay, go. So we've got the kids coming out the thing, and I'm listening to it all, and it's like, okay, that's good, that's good. And then it's like, okay, drone's attached, the drone's up, and I'm like sitting there going, okay, so the drone's up. And then I see it, and I see the drone, I'm like, oh wow, okay, drone's attached, the drone's up, and I'm like sitting there going, okay, so the drone's up. And then I see it, and I see the drone,

I'm like, oh wow, okay, so the drone. And then I see the van coming round the corner, I see all the fellas jump out the van, I see Matt run over as the drone, they catch the drone, Matt takes the camera and then I go, oh shit, I'm in it, oh my God. And then I, yeah, I remember that was in it, and I've grabbed the flowers, composed myself,

and then I've opened the door and got out. And we managed to get that take. But the picture went off when the drum was attached. So everybody back at bass had no idea that we'd completed the scene. Right, right. They were just holding their breath. They were just panicking. It's so, I mean, just aside from just all the logistics, the sequencing and all the planning and all that stuff,

the fun of that and the excitement of that, but specifically for this subject matter and the way that the scripts are constructed in this linear storytelling, it's A goes to B goes to C goes to D, and you're, as you said, on a train, and you never get off, you're never tapped on the shoulder by an edit and knocked out of your trance.

You're staying in this one shot, and you're stuck in the best sense of the word, and you can't stop watching, and it's just, it's so propulsive watching and it's just so propulsive and it's such a perfect concept to use this device. JB, I'll add to that which is that I think that linear storytelling is something that we kind of take for granted

and we sort of try to get away from and try to dress stuff up and there is something because of the way that you told it and there is no cut to distract you, but also because it's happening in real time, you feel less like you're watching it and more like you're in it. Yeah, exactly.

And so it's much more immersive in that way. You feel like you're, do you know what I mean? You're not, it's not performative, it's not something that you're not observing, you're actually in it. Yeah, and given the subject matter, it's very... Visceral. Yeah, you're so affected.

It's like you just step on the audience's neck and you don't get off, it's outstanding. That was, thank you very much, they're lovely things for you both to say. That was kind of one of the things we thought of at the very beginning, and like I say, Jack's one of my favorite writers of all time. He's a wonderful man.

I've worked with him six times. Jack's idea as we create the story was to grab the audience. He said what it gave him as a writer was a lot of freedom because a writer is totally ... With writing that script, he's totally in kind of control of not just what the story is, but also the rhythm of how it moves and how it's set and the kind of pace of it. And then you're just amazed, like you said, it's that kind of voyeuristic element. But as well, conventionally, you know, the story would be told, but it'd be slightly disjointed and you could go to any point in time. But when I said from the very beginning, look,

this goes over 13 months and we're just going to grab the audience four times in this story, but it's going to be for an hour. And we allow the, I think what we did as well was like, you know, treating the audience with respect and with intelligence, let them fill in the gaps. And it doesn't have the answers and it wasn't open. And as an actor, was it exciting to be inside of the tape? let them fill in the gaps. And it doesn't have the answers. And it wasn't open.

And as an actor, was it exciting to be inside of the take, of the one hour, knowing that no one can get to you, just like theater. So between action and cut, you're dictating the pace, the rhythm, the timing, everything. It'll never be changed. It'll never be manipulated by an editor's choice or a director's choice or a scene won't be cut.

So all of your ideas about how you're gonna arc out your performance is completely in your control. Well, you worked it out beforehand though. I mean like- Yeah, but still, but like each, you say you do this multiple times. Yeah, but JV is right, like once it's rolling. Yeah exactly, so each take can be completely different. I mean everybody has to hit their marks

because of all the technical sequencing, but there's still, there's just performance stuff you know is going to be married to this particular version of this episode. This particular take will always be, my reaction to her line is always going to be that. It's not going to be taken from take two, married to her reading in take seven.

Like it's all unique to that one piece. It's kind of cool, yeah. Yeah, you've hit the nail on the end, because as we all know, when you perform, we're not in control of the choices that get made. Yeah. Which we all understand, choices that get made. Which we all understand, and that's great.

They take the little bits like you just perfectly described. But with the process of this, and again, back in Sean as well, we have that wonderful rehearsal process, like we would with a play. But then you're right, on the day, no take was identical to the others. Because what it does, and again, I'm a working class kid from Liverpool, you know what I mean? I can't say I'm pretentious. By the way, you never run the risk of sounding pretentious. Yes, well you're good. Just for clarity.

All right, good. But it's, now give me a moment, because I may do, but it's the most zen I've ever felt as an actor, and it also puts you right in that place. No, you did it. You did it. You did do it. You did do it.

Thanks for joining us, Stephen. Look, that's what my microphone's leading on. Do you know what I mean? So it's not I'm just saying it for shits and giggles. That's me speaking. I love that. So in the same respect, it's that kind of, you're completely, like you said,

well, it's that immersive experience for the audience, but picking up on you, J, it is for the actor, because you have to be present, truly present. And what it does is, to me, acting is all about listening and reacting, do you know what I mean? So you're constantly listening and reacting to what's being, what's in front of you. As you know, Steven, I had this discussion

with somebody very recently, they said, oh, is it hard to memorize lines? I was talking about this, having lots of dialogue, and Jay, I know you just came up with something where you had a lot of dialogue, and the truth is, as we all know, it's not hard when, if you're present, and the person says something to you,

you're, what you're going to say next makes sense to them. You don't have to memorize, because it makes sense what you should say. Yeah. If the writing's good. Do you know what I mean? If the writing's good. Yeah, if the writing's good. Yeah. Yeah.

But that's what I love about your process about like it being like theater. You can discuss like, I don't know that I would say that. I would say, I feel like this would make more sense. And that collaborative experience probably made it all the better. Completely. Yeah, tell me about, wait,

so I wanna talk about break dancing. First of all, what's Scouse? So, like Scouse is what? What's Scouse? Is that a, is that? Scouse is like a terminology for the particular type of person who comes from Liverpool. We have different-

Oh, it's like a subset of- Well, it's like, you know, if you're from Liverpool, you're called a Scouser. If you're from Newcastle, you're called a Geordie. Oh, okay, okay. If you're, it's like, you know, if you're from Liverpool, you're called a Scouser. If you're from Newcastle, you're called a Geordie. Oh, okay, okay. If you're from London, you used to be called a Cotney. Do you know what I mean? Oh, right, right, right.

All right. And if you're from Scotland, you're called a Geoch. Why? So it's different kind of saying. Where'd all these come from? Like if you're from Beverly Hills, you're called the Douche. Right. Right.

So... Yeah. So. Yeah. So, no, it is, so yeah, Scouser is. So Scouser is someone who comes from Liverpool, yeah. Okay, I don't know. Who's like a true Liverpoolian who has a, you know, who's, right? Yeah, yeah, that's it, you know.

Working class, full. Why do people think you're faking the accent when I, like what? I have no idea, it's hard for me, he spoke so to me. That's so weird. I don't know, never heard that one. All right, tell me about breakdancing

because I did it too and I would absorb the pain and then walk away like that was really fun, but I've been in so much pain. Like I never did the head spins or anything, but I constantly was breakdancing. It was just, it was just. We did this as kids. Because he did it in Liverpool and I did it like,

I was like, when I read that I was like, I did that kids. Because he did it in Liverpool, and I did it like, I was like, when I read that I was like, I did that too, that's so crazy. Where was you when you did your break dancing? Oh, anywhere. Anywhere there was a mall. Like a dinner theater. Anywhere there was a piece of cardboard,

I would just go watch this, do the worm. We even bought lino, so you know the lino that people used to put in the kitchens back in the 80s. We used to carry our own bit of lino. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And get it all blasted. It was like back in the days of Electro 7 and Grandmaster Flash and Melly Merlin and the Furies 5 and all that kind of stuff. And we just, yeah, I don't know, it was just this whole thing that just popped up.

Obviously it came over from America. And it ended up in a little town where I'm from, Kirby. And we used to go and do it in the town center. Because we couldn't watch videos and nothing like that to work out what they were doing. So I don't even know how we, I think it got past that. But now it's an Olympic sport. Isn't that funny?

Yeah, that video. You know how good it is, it's amazing, isn't it? It's pretty amazing. Well, it's at a nice level. How were the outfits? Were you proud of your outfits and your hairdos? Yeah, I used to have a shiny shell suit back in the day. Yeah, something that you could spin on,

do you know what I mean? And then the parachute pants and like, yeah. Sean, were you in like an Adidas tracksuit or were you like MC Hammer pants? No, no, but I did have parachute pants because I thought they were really cool. Yeah. I used to have a really lovely velour Adidas.

Oh yeah. Oh nice. Velour. You wear that straight to bed. Yeah. Yeah, it's lovely. So you grew up in Liverpool or outside of Liverpool. Kirkby, where's Kirkby?

Kirby, it's just kind of like 35 minutes from the city center. So you know, Stephen, you must know John Bishop. Not personally, but I've met him a couple of times socially but I don't know him personally. Okay, that's the guy you did the film that's based on, Willie? Yes, who's also a Scouser.

Yeah, the film that we did is based on his life, yeah. His story. When's this film coming out? But I thought you would. Fairly soon. The film that we did is based on his life, his story. But I thought you would. I met John by chance and he told me a story of how he became a stand-up comedian, which is kind of an interesting story, by mistake. He was separated from his wife and they were getting divorced and he went to do stand up. He went to go for a drink

and they were charging a cover because it was open mic night and he put his name down just so he could get in and they called him and he had a few and he went up and just started doing stand up. And then it was quite cathartic and he started going back and he didn't tell anybody. And that's how he got into stand up.

Will, did you ever discuss doing it as him and doing the whole Liverpool accent and anything? Not really, because we didn't want it to be too much, too like Billy Elliot or Full Monty, you know what I mean? All due respect to those movies. We just wanted to tell a difference. So we set it in New York, Steven, and I wrote it with an Englishman with Mark Chappell

and Bradley Cooper directed, and Bradley's in it with me as well, yeah. Will, do you think you could do a Liverpool accent? Yeah, you can. No, it's tough. It's a tricky one, it is quite tricky, Jay. Yeah, because you hear him say, it's a tricky one. Like, there's a kind of like, almost like an in-hand. See, but then he sounds a little bit like Miss Doubtfire there.

It's a tricky one, children, let's come down. No, we don't speak like that. It's a very difficult accent. That's why I just kind of, I leave it alone that one. It sounds like there's a little bit of Scottish in there. Is Liverpool North? Yes. Yeah, it is, and it's kind of,

I think it's an amalgamation of Irish, Scottish, but also kind of because of the docks and the pollution, it's kind of to do with nasal and throat kind of extractions or whatever, do you know what I mean? Will's got that down. There's a science behind it. There's a, there are a lot of Irish people who immigrated to Liverpool.

Yeah. Yeah, because it sounds a little bit Irish. Well, a lot of Scousers, I say Scousers, Scousers are just lazy Irish that couldn't be arsed going to America. When the boat came, they just stayed at Liverpool and didn't move forward, do you know what I mean? So, it's kind of...

Now the fellas in the Beatles, did they have famously thick Liverpool accents? But back then the accents were slightly different. Really? And obviously it's changed, but they, yeah, all of them, Paul, Ringo, Leo and George, obviously, they all have that Liverpool accent, but theirs was a lot more kind of singy at the time,

do you know what I mean? It was more like that. It was more melodical and like nice little notes and things. That's the go-to when anybody does an impression of a Liverpool. So wait, so growing up there, what was your window to wanna be an actor when you were break dancing?

You're like, wait, if I'm not a break dancer, I'm going to be a... For me, it was really interesting because when I was about, I think, 11, we were doing a play in school. And across the road from my nana's house, a wonderful man called Drew Schofield lived there, and he was an actor, and he was on television,

and he was on a show called Scully which was really popular and that was about a young man who had this dream and this fantasy of playing for Liverpool and he was the lead role in that and he lived across the road from my nana's house and no one in my family was ever into the arts or anything like that. Me and my dad used to go to the gallery and stuff like that and everything, and heavily into films. My dad got me right into films when I was a young lad, but no one had done anything like that.

But I could see Drew across the road, and he was on the telly every week, so it made me realize that it was a possibility. And he came to watch a play we did in school. His nephew was in the same play, and at the end of it he said to my mum and dad, he said, look, I think Steven's really talented. You should look at maybe taking him

to a youth theater or something. And thank God, you know what I mean? I did, I went to the Everyman Youth Theater and that's kind of where it all started. How about that? Did you ever think along the way in high school, maybe I should do my studies in such a way where I can get into a college

and maybe study up on another career. Was there ever a backup? There wasn't, but there was also that kind of, I went to, my intention was to go to university and you know, if I couldn't make it as an actor, but give it a go, then I would hopefully fall into being a teacher. That was kind of the other role I was looking at

and the other way of going. Really? Like an elementary teacher that teaches all subjects or specializing in one in high school or college? Teaching drama in like a high school, do you know what I mean? Because over here we have GCSEs and stuff and that kind of, so that's secondary school.

Being a drama teacher, that was another possibility that I looked at. Or if not, believe it or not, I wanted to be a fireman. Yeah. Sure, why not? Same. Now wait, but this is pretty wild. Like I had no idea.

Be with a fireman? Yeah, be with a fireman. What did you say? No, no, it's a fireman and village people, that kind. Yeah, that's right. I keep forgetting that's what it is. Wait, your dad, your biological dad was Jamaican. And your-

My granddad was from Jamaica, yeah. And your stepdad, African American? Yes, yes, Pops. That's awesome. Pops family. Yeah, Pops was being there since I was 10, so he's the man that's raised me, he's my father. And did you ever talk to your biological dad? I mean, when he was- Yeah, yeah, we haven't spoken for a me. He's my father. And did you ever talk to your biological dad? I mean, when he was...

Yeah, yeah, we haven't spoken for a while. There's no animosity there. I suppose kind of through that. But he didn't... Sean, are you familiar with this area? Yes, yes. Oh, God, hang on, I gotta get that. Hey, dad calling.

One second. Can you hear me? Hello? Sometimes you grow apart, don't you? You know what I mean, in many ways. Yeah, oh yeah, sometimes you just drive away. Yeah, yeah, exactly. That's the running joke, Stephen,

that my dad left when I was five. Anyway, so, okay, so, and you have siblings. And then did he really leave when he was five? Oh yeah, he spun the wheels. He just threw it and drive, and there was a screech. They didn't see any warning signs, I mean, other than he bought a sports car, a two-seater sports car with five kids.

No, no, no, wait a minute, let's be serious for a second. Did he just say, I'm just going to go to the shop, I'll be back in a minute. Yeah, I want to get some milk. No, he was in a Korean War, and he came back and he married my mom. A Korean War or the Korean War? The Korean War. Sorry. Okay. It was just mom. A Korean War or the Korean War?

The Korean War. Sorry. Okay. It was just one of them. He was in the army. And then he came back and he married my mom and had five kids and said, this isn't for me. Back to Korea?

Yeah, no, I don't know where. I don't know. This isn't for me. I'd rather be back in a war theater than be part of this. Shit. So we, hang on, so five. Yeah. And then he made the decision to fuck off.

Yeah. Wow. Look, Steve and I... Selfish bastard. If you spend a lot of time with Sean, it'll make sense. Yeah. No, wait, Sean, what number are you within that five? Five.

What? What number are you within that five? Are you the... Oh, I'm the youngest, I'm the youngest. Yeah, he's the one that really sealed the deal. Fuck me, well he stayed for the first four, Sean. Yeah, you were the one, I'm sorry. The four of kids.

The bang on the money there. I mean, he put up with four and he was around. As soon as you came, it was like, get the fuck out of here. Sean, do you think it was the break dancing? Do you think that was the final? Maybe, maybe. I ain't raising any kid that does that.

Sean, you really were the straw that brought the camel back, weren't you? I really was. You get a lot of therapy now though, Sean. Oh God, I love it. Totally, I love it. Yeah, you know what, I got to say, of all the jokes that we do about it, Sean is so in front of this trauma, if you will, in a way that you talk about it in such a very healthy way, which is why we do joke about it. For our listener, because sometimes people are like,

man, you guys are really rough on Sean. No, I mean, the way that we deal with stuff, all of us, is by laughing about it. Yeah, totally. And it's earned laughter because you've been through all the processing and all the therapy, and now you've landed in the laughter. And I don't know, see, I grew up Irish Catholic,

so we stuffed everything. So my therapy is to talk about the shit that I wasn't allowed to talk about when I was a kid. Exactly. And so it feels good to do it. That's why I talk about my mom's fake eye. Anyway, we're going on. Yeah, Stephen, yeah, so we can move over to the mother now

with just the fake eyeball. Yeah, yeah, ad nauseam, we talked about ad nauseam. Stephen just was like, what? We brought his sister, we were on tour, and his sister brought the eyeball out on stage and opened it in a box and stuff, and we took it out. It was a lot of fun. Steve doesn't know whether we're kidding or not.

It's true. It's true. So your mom had a fake eyeball? Yeah, we were never allowed to ask about it. Except when she threw it. It was a glass eye then? Yeah, it was a glass eye. Yeah, yeah, yeah. How did she lose it? Nobody knows, she still can ask about it. Except when she threw it. It was a glass eye then? Yeah, it was a glass eye.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. How did she lose it? Nobody knows, she still can't find it. No. She had cancer when she was two years old and so they had to take her eyeball out. Anyway, it's a hilarious story. Is your mom still alive?

Nobody knows again. No, she passed away. No, but the eye is. No, she passed away, oh God, six years ago, maybe seven years ago. Anyway, I want to talk about. The irony that you don't remember in that she. Well, I know she, it was January of 2021, no, 2019 maybe.

Yeah. Yeah. But look how well balanced you are. Look at you. Whatever it is, it's a nice young boy. No, no. I mean it. The way that you talk about it,

that you're so open about it and that you have come out the other side, as JB said, and done all the work, it is very healthy. Well, thank you. To be honest, it is inspiring. We'll be right back. And now, back to the show.

Wait, so you had brothers and sisters growing up, yes? And were they interested in what you did or no? Not really, no. They don't do anything near what you do? My life's very complicated because with that biological father, similar to yours, he went off and he had four children to four different women. Wow, wow.

So, yeah. But you know, look, everyone, he stood on his own. I'm all right now, I'm on the other side of it. Are you an only child from? No, I'm not, because my mom and pops, they had Nathan, who, there's a 20 year gap between me and Nathan. Older or younger?

He's my little brother. I'm 20 years older than him. My mom had me when she was 20 and she had our kid when she was 40. So the beauty of that though is I had all my time with my mom, who, God bless her soul, I adored, and all that time with pops who, you know,

I loved to bits who raised me. Like I said, you know, he taught me about my history, Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, Toussaint Louberture, all of those things about my historical background and where my origins are from. So I was given all of that beautiful information by him. So I was always educated in that respect. And then when I was ready to leave

to go to university at the age of 20, Nathan was born. So we never had any of that sibling rivalry. And I love our Nathan to bits. Technically, look, he could have been my dad, who's there for my kids massively. I love that expression, our Nathan, that you get, like my friend who grew up in sort of the West Country, they say like, our Mark. Yeah.

I love that, there's something really endearing about it. Indeed, and quality. Just sort of the inclusiveness of it, and you know, it's... Sweet. I mean, my dad's... Sorry, just to pick up on that point as well, when I was about 14, and I said, I think pick up on that point as well, when I was about 14 and I said,

I think I really want to be an actor, dad was like, all right, come on, let's go. I was like, what? It was before Blockbuster even. This was just a local video shop, just a little independent ones. We went in and we looked and he picked these three films. And it was, he picked The Deer Hunter, The Godfather, and Taxi Driver. And then we went home and he was like, right, we're going to watch these.

This is how you do it properly. Let's watch these films. And we spent the whole weekend rewatching those three films. Which is your favorite from those three? That's a tricky one, isn't it? I love the deer hunter. I love the deer hunter. And then when you were in your 20s, you were in gang, like 14 years old, you said you wanted

to be in the six years later, you're Gangs of New York with Martin Scorsese. I mean, that's crazy. That was so fast. It was another incredible film. Quite mind-blowing as well to be a part of. What was that like from the moment that you knew that it was a project that was happening to getting an audition to being there?

Can you comment on that? It was... I got the call from my agent and said, to being there? I got the call from my agent and said, we need you to come in and do a read and put yourself on tape. I met Ellen Lewis, who's wonderful. We just had a really lovely time and I read these couple of scenes and then I went away. And it was one of them, you know, where you don't hear for like four or five weeks later and you kind of go, I told you there's no chance. So as a job and actor

and a young lad, I had to go for this, we've all done it, that's, let's be honest, I had to go for this bag of shit audition. I really didn't want to go. It was fucking awful. But I'm on the train, I'm sweating, I'm on my way into London, you know, you got to pay the rent, haven't you got to eat? So I'm there and I'm like, and I'm going through this fucking awful script and I'm like, okay, all right, yeah, having a coffee. And then the next minute my phone goes,

and it was my agent, Jane, and she said to him, she said, are you sitting down? I was like, yeah, I'm sitting down. She went, right, okay, you've got that part in Gangs of New York. I was like, what? She went, yeah, they came back today, you've got a flight to, you've got a flight to Italy.

I'd say this was Friday, you've got a flight to Italy on Monday. Marty wants to sit down and talk to you and go through the character. And I was like, what? And I was made up. Oh, God. But then the best bit was I went,

does that mean I don't have to go for this audition now? Yeah. No, you don't have to go for that. I was like, thank you, fuck that. And so then I flew out there and we met and it was wonderful and it was just a wonderful experience. And that was when I became friends with Leo as well. That's when we got together.

That's amazing. And there was some story about a golf cart or something? We were with a golf cart around the set? Yeah, I tipped the golf cart over and I nearly broke his leg, yeah. Oh, okay, okay. Oh, yeah. Yeah, you can get really messed up on those things.

Yeah. Yeah. You don't realize they're dangerous. I think that if you go to my Wikipedia page and you look at my filmography, Steven, they all fall under the category of you have to pay the rent. For what it's worth. Okay. Well, and then this is wild.

So one of the three movies you mentioned was The Godfather, and then you're with Pacino, you know, and the Irishman. Well, can you imagine that phone call to me, Dad? I mean, that's incredible. That's incredible. I had to go to, it was a wonderful, wonderful story. I was doing a little series over here called The Virtues with Shane Meadows, and it was a wonderful experience. And on the Friday, I had to fly to New York

to go to Marty's house to meet Robert De Niro, because Rob was an exec and you had to meet him, and he wanted to make sure that I was right and things like that. So you can imagine how nervous I was, and I had to fly to New York. So I finished work, I think, first thing Monday, they let me go early, so I had to fly out, and then I got there. Literally, I had to land, go to Marty's house,

and see Marty, and then I met, I'm sitting there, and then Bob comes up, and he's got his little cap on, and he's got the paper underneath his arm, and a pair of shorts, and a little baggy shirt, and he's like, hey. And it was unbelievable, it was amazing. We had a wonderful afternoongy shirt. And he's like, hey. And it was unbelievable. It was amazing. We had a wonderful afternoon.

But Ellen had said to me, look, he doesn't really talk much. So I'm thinking, oh, shit. Yeah, yeah. She's like, so you might have to make some conversation. I'm like, OK. Anyway, cut to we were there for about 2 and 1 half hours. And then they went like, right, OK, you best go. And then I said, have I got the part?

I went, I can't leave now without knowing if I've got the part. And then Bob was like, just give us a minute, go on. Just give us a minute. And I was like, oh shit, okay, I've tried my hardest. I don't know if this is going to work. I hope so, I don't know if he likes me. First of all, he was like, you're not Italian.

I'm like, no, I'm not Italian. And so then I come back in and I sit down and he goes, sit down, sit down, I'll let Marty tell you. And then Marty was like, okay kid, so, do you want to do this? And I was like, of course. And then I got a hug off them and I felt like, you know in all the films, I felt like I was a made man,

do you know what I mean? I feel made by the back of your boss. Or I'd be taken out the back and put two in the head. And then you can imagine that phone call to my dad and the pride gets me emotional. Just think about it a little bit. You know, I'm a young kid from a block of flats, a young mixed-race kid who had a dream to be an actor.

And my dad took me to that video shop, like you say, Shaun, and in the next minute I'm phoning him up saying, I'm going to be in a film with Robert De Niro and Al Pacino and being directed by Martin Scorsese. So, you know. That's really cool. Oh man. It's one of those beautiful stories.

And Martin Scorsese is famous for many things. One of which though is his kindness and his warmth and his spirit on set. And you've had the chance to work with him at least twice. Three occasions. Three times, yeah. Wow. Yeah, good for you.

Yeah, it's really cool. It's an amazing, lovely one. And then when I met you, Steven, at the Graham Norton show just in February, and you were so, I mean, I just fucking loved you right away, you were so normal and kind, and like, it was just great. That's such a fun show.

They should air that here. Steven, what did you think of Sean? I mean, he said that about you. And be honest, And be brutally honest. He was lovely. He was wonderful. He was like a ray of sunshine. Yeah.

Sean was a ray of sunshine. Yeah, he was lovely. Our Sean. Your Sean. Yeah, see? Look, see the endearment there? Your Sean was lovely. And really wonderful.

You know what I mean? He was very gregarious. It was lovely. And afterwards I was like, oh my God, you gotta come on the show, so it's nice of you to. Yeah, he did, he asked me. But wait, you were promoting a movie

where you trained to be this boxer, and the movie's called A Thousand Blows. It was a TV series on Disney, A Thousand Blows, set in the 1800s, that was. And I haven't seen it yet, but those clips, I was like, that looks incredible. Oh, go ahead, A Thousand Blows. No, Sean, clips, I was like, that looks incredible. Oh, go ahead, a thousand blows. Go ahead, Will, what you got?

No, Sean and Jason and I are just looking at each other on a thousand. Who's got the joke here? Who wants to go on a thousand blows? You haven't? I don't have it yet, I'm still writing it. Will, if you're there, go ahead. See, my missus went, as soon as he said, right, a thousand blows, my missus went,

sounds a bit like a top shelf. I mean, it's just, it's like, it's like, it's Sean, right? It's like my summer in, Sean Hayes, my summer in Meekano's. A thousand blows. So. My time's sure on Fire Island. I imagine it's different than that, Steven, yeah.

The movie. Are you, did you train? Did you train as a fighter? Yes, I trained. Oh, sorry, you're asking him. Yeah, I did, yeah, yeah, I did. Yeah, I did, well, yeah, I did. Yeah, I did a lot of boxing, a shitload of protein,

and yeah, it was great. I had six months when I got into the best shape I've ever been in. Yeah, I mean you're very young. I mean you're not 20, but you're still pretty young. I'm 51, yeah. Yeah, to do all that training at 51, that's crazy. Were you a boxing fan or are you a?

Yeah, yeah, I've always been a boxing fan. And how do you feel about where boxing is now? Or have you transferred over to UFC or are you still a purist with the boxing? I like UFC. boxing is now, or have you transferred over to UFC, or are you still a purist with the boxing? I like UFC. I'm not 100% on the kind of, look, it's attracting audiences, I get that, I understand that.

But I think it's gone a little bit sensationalist now. So brutal. I'm more of a fan of the pure art of pugilism, do you know what I mean, and the belts. And I feel like the belts are important, and to be number one in the world, or a world champion is an important thing to be. I'm going to say something that's maybe unpopular, which is that my problem with the MMA in general is that

there is a, to me anyway, there is a kind of a darkness around it, that I find, around the culture of it, that I find really... Almost a bloodlust. Yeah, there's something about it. that I find around the culture of it, that I find really... Yeah, there's something about it. Boxing you get that is sort of the purity of the sweet science, is that what they call it?

That's sort of the art of it. And of course there's a ton of art to MMA, and I'm not disparaging what the athletes do, but the culture around it, to me, there's the sort of the culture around it, to me there's a, I don't know, there's a sort of a darkness to it. Just me. I mean, starting with them doing it all in a cage.

Yeah. Is the optics of it. But it's still, it's really fascinating. And it's the multiple disciplines. Exactly, the multiple disciplines. Inside that cage too. Oh, it's incredible. Which is kind of cool.

So yeah, I'm conflicted on it myself. And to me though, one of my favorites is Paddy the Baddy, who is also a Scouser. He's great, he's fantastic. Do you guys know this guy? He's so funny. Is he a boxer? He's an MMA fighter. He's an MMA fighter.

He's so profoundly funny to me. Every time I see him, God, he's good. And he's tough as nails. Yeah, he's amazing. He's brutal, but he also doesn't take himself too seriously as well. And I love the kind of showmanship of that kind. Look, Ali was the best showman we ever had.

Yeah. But you know, he also, and you go, yeah, but Ali respected the other fighters. No, he didn't. No. If you listen to some of the things he used to say, especially to George Foreman, some of the things he said to him was, you No, he didn't. No. If you listen to some of the things he used to say, especially to George Foreman, some of the things he said to him was horrific.

And Patti the Batty, he uses that thing that you guys, the Scousers do of calling everybody lad and putting lad in everywhere. And there's something sort of hilariously disparaging when you use the term lad, yeah? Yeah, yeah, I know what you mean. Have a look at him, Jay. Some of his videos, he's really funny as well.

He's very sharp. What weight class is he? I'm not too sure, it might be light weight. Oh yeah? Yeah. All your tattoos, did you just not cover them up? No, I did, yeah. That was, you spend like 50 minutes in a chair getting painted

when we did the thing, yeah. And then they don't come off in the shower, the cover up. Yeah, it's gonna be. Really. And you have a tattoo of your nanny, or for your nanny or something? And I never heard this term, a fairy cake.

We just call it a cupcake. Yeah, no, my nanny, she used to, when we were kids, she used to make fairy cakes. Yeah, cupcakes. Cupcakes, okay. Yeah, fairies. Nothing on fairy cake, Will, no? I'm sorry, did you beat, no.

No? I'll give you a couple more minutes, go ahead. Continue with the interview. I never heard that before, I never heard fairy cake. No, no, no, obviously not a lot of Americans have. Hey, fairy cakes, did you? So then what is your, when you're not doing these incredible projects, Steven,

what is something, what is your primary hobby? I bet it's not boxing. What is something that occupies your time that people might be surprised about? Oh, meditation. Yes? Right? Meditation.

I love that. I'm constantly trying to learn how to do that without falling asleep. That's the key. It's right on the edge. No, just bang on the door and you may laugh, but that's the key, yeah. The key is not to fall asleep.

There's a wonderful practitioner called Mugee. If you get a chance, go on YouTube, I'm a little type of Mugee and have a listen to him. His voice is fantastic, but his pointings and his teachings are wonderful. And he always says, you know, look, the basic aim is to try and not to fall asleep in many ways with meditation.

But in the same, because that's, but if you think about it, when the head shuts off, most of the time is when you're asleep. You know, that's when the subconscious comes into effect. But predominantly it's that kind of trying to stop the white noise and that constant pounding of the head to step out, but it's just allowing it to, oh, where have I gone?

Yeah, it's just allowing it to be. Oh, it's good, I want to do it. It's trying to get your brain to think about nothing. Nothing, right? But then that's the key, we'll see. Sorry, Jason, that's the key, isn't it? We're trying to get the brain to think about nothing, and in that trying, you're already doing.

So it's that kind of just letting the clouds pass. Yeah, I love that. Do you know what else I've got into, if you thought, So it's that kind of letting the clouds pass. Do you know what else I've got into? Ice baths, but not in an egotistical sense. If you do two minutes, it does everything your body needs. I've been doing it for 10 years and it's been a game changer for me, man, absolute game changer. And it is, that is, I wish I could meditate like JB, I've thought about it, I've sort of,

I've gotten apps before and I've tried it and I've had, and I remember somebody saying to me once, like imagine a stream and leaves are falling off the stream and each thought is like a leaf, and then just let it go with it a little bit and then you can just reset back under the thing. I just started doing it and- Right, and it does work, but I do it in the cold.

I do, I get in that thing where I just, I'm like, I'm going to do three minutes and I just think about my breathing, think about my breathing and then yeah. When I first started doing, when I first started meditating, this is, I'm talking about like a month ago, like really doing it.

I started, every single time I would do it, I'd start to cry because my brain works overtime constantly from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed. I'm constantly thinking about it, and it's going 80 miles an hour from anxiety, whatever. And then, so I didn't, and sugar, and I didn't know what to do with myself when I'm still. So I would just start welling up and I was like,

but now I'm not anymore, that's good. That's it. Oh yeah, you seem fixed for sure. Yeah. You nailed it. But it is, it's that look, you can be mindful with anything you do. You don't have to, the art of it itself is the art.

The practices become the art, you know what I mean? At least you're taking that time. You also might be out of tears, Sean. Might just be. It's true. Rebuilding the well. This is true. But there is that thing of also like,

when you're doing it and then you hear like you isolate the sound of the refrigerator running or whatever and that's okay. Then think about that, then focus on that, then allow those things and it's just the allowing, it's the constant. And then when you're done with the meditation, you really do feel calmer and more focused and present. I mean it sounds like-

Have you ever tried TM? Steven, have you ever tried TM? I've wanted to do that. What is that? Oh, transcendental. What's the difference? Yeah, I don't really know, but I guess that that's a different,

it's a different practice, the transcendental meditation. That was all that kind of David Lynch skill, wasn't it, and everything? Was it? Yeah, I think so. Stephen, we've taken up way too much of your time. Thank you for being here.

Not enough of your time. God, I could talk to you forever. I know, I love you. I agree. Where are you right now and what are you going to do the rest of the day? I am in New York. We got here on, yeah, we got here on Monday.

And then Seth Meyers, I think we're doing today, this afternoon. Yeah, sure. Right, later on. And then I'm going to go home. And to answer your question as well, Jason, my family is my favorite thing to do in the whole world. I feel very blessed and very, I'm very lucky

and I'm full of gratitude that I have. I have the most amazing wife and two gorgeous kids. I love them to bits. Yeah, that's so great. I love that. Well, we love you. Thank you for being here, Steven. Yeah, it was so nice to see you.

Huge fan. Huge fan of yours, man. Keep going, keep going. Thank you. All. Thank you, Steve. Big, big fan of yours. Huge fan of yours, Mattie. Keep going, keep going. Thank you. All right, my friend. Thanks for doing this. How do they say goodbye in Liverpool? I don't know.

Ta-da. Ta-da? Ta-da. I never heard of that. Ta-da. Ta-da. Ta-da. Enjoy the rest of your day.

See you, bud. Take care, thank you. See you later. Bye, bye, bye. Bye. Sean, what a guest. I love him. When I met him at the Graham Norton Show,

I was like, oh, I totally know Stephen Graham. Like, I know his work. But you never know how anybody is. And I met him, we ended up just talking and talking, and I'm like, he's such a great human being. A nice spirit. Great vibe. Yeah, and so talented, and so many things that we all know.

So many big movies and TV shows. Yeah, he's been a really high level character actor for a long, long time. You'd probably like, if you'd put one of your favorite movies on, you haven't watched for a while, you go, oh, there he is. There's Stephen Graham, yeah. Another great example, we were talking about recently,

of somebody who had talent, came from, didn't come from an environment that was conducive to making his way into Shobas, and had a mentor, had somebody who said, hey, this kid's great, he should go here, and just another, you know. Yeah, we've talked about before,

you need that next stage of people that believe in you after your parents. Yeah, we've talked about before, you need that next stage of people that believe in you after your parents. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm still looking. Oh, I know. Listen, I believe in you. Sean, look at me. I'm looking at you.

Hey, you're great. Oh no, your eyes are crossing. Your eyes are crossing. I'm trying to find you, I'm trying to find you. So, Jason and Will, I had, I ordered, I'm trying to find you. I'm trying to find you so Jason and Will I had I ordered remember when I told you I was in Ohio Oh my god, you know what the worst part is? It's just the fucking It's his face

So I'd love to watch you change lanes on the highway. You must put your car into a four-wheel slide when you do it. I love I'm still laughing at, so fairy kicks, listen. So, no, I really did order some, when I was in Ohio last weekend, I ordered some tea and it was hibiscus tea. Yeah, okay. So the opposite of hibiscus tea would probably be chamomile. Are you trying to get us to say bye, hibiscus tea would probably be. Chamomile?

Are you trying to get us to say bye, hibiscus? Yeah. Well, that's not a thing. That's not a word. Well, we do that sometimes where it's not the thing. No, no, sorry, Jay. I deciphered that. I mean, we almost needed the Enigma machine for that.

I was nowhere near. I can't believe you got that. I was nowhere near that. Hibis you got that. I was nowhere near that. Hi, Biscous. Okay, let me do another one. We know what we just planted in the backyard. Did you see him click the file? This is what you do during the day.

I was in the backyard and we planted some hydrangeas. Okay. And so after we were done and I walked away, I said, bye, hydrangeas. That one's not bad. Jesus Christ. Sorry, listener. We'll see you next time.

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