Stephen Graham has criticised actors who only get roles because they are good looking.
The 44-year-old actor – who is best known for playing violent racist Andrew ‘Combo’ Gascoigne in ‘This is England’ – has starred alongside many Hollywood hunks, such as Johnny Depp in the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ franchise.
But Graham revealed he finds it infuriating when "s**t" actors get hired simply because of their looks but admires the likes of Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio who are both masters of their craft as well as being handsome men.
Speaking to ShortList Magazine, Graham said: "I’d never say who they are, but there’s a good few ballbags out there who haven’t got anything going on apart from their look. It happens. I’ve heard people go, ‘Yeah, we’ll get him!’ And I’ve said, ‘He’s s**t!’ Then they’ve said, ‘But he looks good and he can pull an audience.’ Aw, f***ing hell. Really?’ I only have to look at the amazing character actors that came before me. I’ll never be Mr f**king Darcy, and that’s fine. I’d never want to be. But if I’m totally honest with you, I’ve found that most leading men aspire to be character actors.
"Because that’s what it’s about, isn’t it? Creating a character. That goes for most great actors. Leonardo DiCaprio is a character actor. All day long. And the thing about Leo is, he’s a handsome man, but in every role he plays, he tries to make himself look nothing like he really is.
"Same with Johnny Depp. The ‘uglier’ or the ‘quirkier’ he looks, the better. They’re both great character actors. Tom Hardy, again, a very handsome man, but he doesn’t play on that."
Graham also has some important advice for any young actors who are starting out in their careers.
The ‘Boardwalk Empire’ star insists you need to develop "skin like a rhino" to deal with the rejection if you’re going to make it in showbusiness.
He said: "It’s f***ing horrible. My advice to any young actor or actress is to develop skin like a rhino. You can’t take anything personally. Because I’ve walked into a couple of jobs, and straight away they’ve looked up and you know. In your head, you go, ‘F**king hell.’ ‘OK, sit down. Would you read it, please?’ You’re not even f***ing looking at me. The moment I walked in the door, the decision was made."
The full interview with Graham appears in this week’s Male Beauty issue of ShortList, out Wednesday 29 November 2017.
Stephen Graham says actors shouldn’t be cast on looks
