'Adolescence': A Conversation
A conversation with actors Stephen Graham, Owen Cooper, Erin Doherty, and Ashley Walters about Netflix's new limited series.
The internet is a living thing - an ecosystem of its own. Like any ecosystem, it thrives with life and joy, but it also harbors tragedy and death. The strong stalk the digital undergrowth, preying on the weak.
Perhaps you've noticed that the latter has become far more common in recent years.
With the world now thoroughly encapsulated in the digital age, our societies are becoming more and more polarized. We all carry the world in our pockets, with access to worldwide news coverage and instant communication. And at the heel of this technological marvel comes social media.
Whether these platforms tie us closer together or push us further apart - well, let's just say the jury is still out on that one.
But there is no doubt that social media creates unhindered lines of communication between everyone. And yet, as we hide behind our screens, it also makes it easier to dehumanize "the different" or those who, for one reason or another, are seen as "the other."
And in this digital jungle, certain media personalities, often spewing toxic rhetoric, teaching our most vulnerable and impressionable how to hate.
For in this jungle, predators lurk.
These issues are at the core of Netflix’s Adolescence, which tells the story of the Miller family, whose youngest child, Jamie, at the age of 13, is arrested for the murder of a teenage girl from his school.
What begins as a crime drama soon evolves into a tragic and heart-wrenching exploration of a family in crisis as they struggle to come to grips with the unimaginable. Over four episodes, each told in one unbroken shot, the series delves into the ‘why’ rather than the ‘who.’
I recently joined a Zoom call with journalists from around the world to speak with the cast of Adolescence about their work on the show. On the call were actor and co-writer Stephen Graham, who plays the father, Eddie; Owen Cooper, who plays the son, Jamie; Erin Doherty, who plays psychologist Briony Ariston; and Ashley Walters, who plays police detective Luke Bascombe.
Here are some highlights from that conversation.
Oh, and before we begin, this conversation includes mild spoilers from Adolescence, so I highly recommend you watch that first. It’s very good.
Why Instead of Who
Stephen Graham said the idea for Adolescence started taking shape after he and director Philip Barantini were asked to develop a TV series following the success of Boiling Point, which was filmed in a single take. The concept, however, had been brewing in Graham’s mind for some time.
“I had read a newspaper article about a young boy who had stabbed a girl to death,” Graham recalled. “Then, just a couple of months later, another case appeared on the BBC — same crime, different part of the country. It really hurt my heart. What’s happening in society where this isn’t an isolated incident?”
That question shaped the direction of the series. For Graham, the story wasn’t about who committed the crime but why. “We know he did it. So, it’s not a whodunit — it’s about understanding the reasons behind it.”
Graham described the project as a way of exploring responsibility, echoing the proverb, It takes a village to raise a child. “Who is responsible? Why would a boy go to these lengths? That’s what we wanted to explore.”
Ten Takes
When asked how the process of shooting without cuts differs from the approach of filmmakers like Alfonso Cuarón, Alejandro González Iñárritu, and Sam Mendes, Stephen Graham described it as an intense but deeply rewarding experience.
“It’s an incredible experience for any actor. We spend a full week rehearsing, really breaking down the script. Jack Thorne was with us during that first week, working through every scene with each of us. With Phil and me, we analyzed everything — the relationships, the dynamics, the motivations behind every word. If Owen felt something didn’t sound right, he’d ask, ‘How would you say it?’ because he understands the natural flow of language.
“The second week is all about rehearsing with the camera. Phil and Matt, our DOP, meticulously map out every movement, creating a roadmap for how the camera flows. That entire week is like choreography, making sure the process feels organic.
“Then it all comes together in the final week. There’s a raw energy, like performing live on stage, but also the realism and naturalism that film and television bring, especially with social realism. We merge those disciplines, and it creates something truly unique.
“I’ve said this before, but it’s like a footy team. Everyone has a role, and we’re all in it together. Our director is like the manager — his one-on-one work with us is fantastic, and his overall vision is beautiful. It’s pure collaboration. Every person is essential. And when we finally step up and do it, it’s one of the most freeing experiences I’ve ever had as an actor.”
Ashley Walters put it simply: “You’ve got ten takes, and that’s all you get, so you better get it right. For me, it was… well, I actually had a bad back when I arrived, so I wasn’t exactly jogging onto set, but in my mind, I was. I was just so excited to be part of this process, to finally work with Phil in this way. Then I got there and realized how tough it is. It’s challenging, even daunting at times. I spent a lot of evenings buried in the script, sometimes with tears in my eyes, wondering if I could pull it off. But the moment I let go, that’s when I really understood the process.
“It’s an ensemble — everyone picks up the ball, no matter how long they hold it or how quickly they pass it on. And if you drop it, someone else is there to scoop it up and hand it back to you. That was the process. The moment I trusted that I knew the text, that I understood what was happening, it all became free and amazing. Honestly, I wish I could work like this every day. It was one of the best experiences of my life.”
Trusting the Moment
For Erin Doherty, it was just as much of a revelation.
“I read the script and knew I wanted to be part of it, but nothing can prepare you for what it’s actually like until you’re in that rehearsal room. It was everything I’d hoped for. It forces you to be a better actor because you have to stay completely present, responding in real time to everything — conscious, subconscious, positive, negative, all of it. That’s given me a gift I hope to carry forward: there’s no right or wrong. We’re just human beings living in the moment, in life and in acting.
“The minute you let go of ‘Oh, I think she’d do it this way’ and just respond — ‘Okay, you said it like that, so I’m going to come back with this’ — that’s when the best work happens. It’s like jumping off a cliff. Scary as hell, but when you trust it, only good can come from it. But you can only do that if your scene partner is right there with you.
Getting his first role was both exciting and a bit overwhelming for 15-year-old Owen Cooper, who had never acted before. With experienced actors around him and the pressure of a one-shot filming style, it was a lot to take in.
“During the auditions, I was really nervous,” he admitted. “But Phil and Jo Johnson, the producer, welcomed me in so naturally. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. It was daunting at first, especially with the one-shot approach, but I couldn’t have done it without Erin, Ashley, and Stephen. So, really, it’s all thanks to them.”
The Conversation
One of the biggest challenges came in episode three, where he had to push himself into uncomfortable territory.
“The most challenging scene was probably in episode three with Erin — where I had to get right up in her face and scare her. During rehearsals, that was completely out of my comfort zone. But by shoot week, after two weeks of rehearsals, I was completely comfortable thanks to Phil and everyone’s support. I couldn’t have done it without them.”
For Erin Doherty, stepping into the role of a psychologist in a high-stakes interrogation was as much about restraint as it was about performance.
“I was very nervous when I first understood what was being asked of me,” she admitted. “It’s a trap waiting to happen — so easy to fall into the cliché of ‘I’m a psychologist, I sit here, I ask questions.’ It could have ended up feeling flat, just very 2D.”
To avoid that, she immersed herself in research. “I spoke to a therapist because I really wanted to understand what it meant to be in that room every day — the mentality, the mental agility needed to achieve what she needed to achieve. But at the same time, I had to put that knowledge aside and just be present in the room.”
The heart of the challenge, she explained, was balancing professionalism with genuine human connection. “You can’t not care about this character. And that’s really a tribute to what you did,” she said, turning to her scene partner Owen Cooper. “It would have been easy for this kid to come across as a monster, but you gave him so many layers, such richness, that it was impossible not to want him to prove me wrong. That was the joy for me — walking that fine line between being a professional and being a human being, genuinely invested in the well-being of another soul sitting in front of her. That’s what brought the nuance.”
The Conversation
For Stephen Graham, shaping the character and the series itself was about breaking conventions.
“It was a really interesting process,” he said. “I had an idea, and Phil and I discussed it — it was one of those moments, like a flash of lightning. We were in a car, I don’t even remember where we were going, maybe an hour-long journey, and I just went, ‘I think this is what it might be.’ I started talking about episode one, and we both realized we had this shared obsession with 24 Hours in Police Custody, which I think is a brilliant show.
“We wanted to make a police procedural drama that wasn’t like the conventional ones. From the start, Phil, Jack, and I — and Hannah was a huge part of those early conversations too — wanted to change the narrative. Normally, these stories are told from the perspective of the victim’s family, which is absolutely the right way to tell them. But we wanted to do something different. We wanted to tell it from the perspective of the kid who committed the act.”
That shift in perspective meant rethinking the usual tropes and leaving them behind. “There are certain elements you expect in this kind of drama — a violent father, an alcoholic mother, a history of abuse. But we wanted to remove all of those. This wasn’t about a kid with an obvious, tragic backstory. It was about asking: Why did he do this? What leads someone down this path when none of those expected markers are there?”
That’s where Jack Thorne’s writing pushed the series further into the realities of online influence. “Jack is an amazing writer — he really delved into the toxic corners of social media, the kind of stuff that festers online. That’s where the whole incel construct came in. It became about exploring that world, about looking at the influences that shape young men in ways we don’t often see explored. That was the goal — to create something that felt different.”
That We Can’t Control
For Ashley Walters, what started as a police drama quickly turned into something much more personal.
“Before we started, I went on a raid as research, trying to understand how the police operate — their procedures, how they move, that kind of thing. But once we got into rehearsals, it hit me — this isn’t about being a copper. For Bascombe, it is at first, until he bursts through that kid’s door. At that moment, it’s not about being a detective — it’s about being a dad. And from there, it becomes an obsession. He needs to understand why because he’s terrified his own kids could go down the same road.
“And I think that’s something every parent watching this is going to feel. It really made me question how I connect with my own kids. As a father, you think, I go to work, I provide, we kick a ball around on the weekend, but how often do you actually sit down and talk to your kids about what’s going on inside their heads? That’s what this series threw up for me. It was emotionally draining, but it also pushed me to have those conversations. And hopefully, it does the same for other parents.”
For Stephen Graham, that was exactly the point.
“The idea from the start was to challenge that ‘this could never happen to us’ mindset. We wanted the Millers to be a normal, hard-working, loving family — the kind that could live next door to you. Or, more importantly, could be your home.”
“As Ashley said so well, it’s about communication. That was our biggest goal — to spark conversations between parents and teenagers. Because no matter how much we try to teach our kids, the world they’re growing up in isn’t the world we grew up in. These devices — these phones, these online spaces — they’re educating and shaping our kids just as much as we are, if not more. That’s something we have to confront.”
Kids These Days…
For Owen Cooper, who’s the same age as his character, the series was an eye-opener.
“I’m always on social media, but even though I’m the same age group as Jamie, I don’t come across a lot of that stuff myself. But for parents, this will definitely be an eye-opener. The scene with Ashley and Amari in episode two, where they talk about Andrew Tate, the emojis, and what they actually mean — that’s going to shock people. Even I didn’t know about that before. And that’s what social media is doing to people my age. Kids are just getting corrupted by it.”
Stephen Graham agreed, stressing that the series isn’t about offering easy answers, but facing reality head-on.
“We’re not pointing fingers or saying, ‘This is the solution.’ We don’t know. We don’t have the answers. But what we can do is start the conversation — open the debate about how we even begin to tackle this.”
“And look, I’ve said this before, and I don’t mean it to be disrespectful in any way, but this isn’t some alien drama on Mars. We’re not telling a story about an alternative society in space or some far-off, dystopian future. No — this is reality. This is truth. People can debate what it means, but these incidents have happened. Young boys have stabbed and killed young girls. This isn’t fiction — it’s happening, right now, in our society. And as a culture, we need to face it.”
The Darker Side
For Owen Cooper, episode three was a trial by fire.
“It was daunting at first, obviously, because it was the first episode we shot. But it was great to meet Erin and work with her. From the start, I didn’t think of Stephen as Stephen — I saw him as my dad. Same with Erin, she was Briony to me. So the anger Jamie feels, it’s real in the moment, because Briony is just winding him up for an hour straight. That’s where it all comes from. And honestly, those were the best scenes to do. It was amazing.”
Before Owen could say more, Stephen Graham jumped in — not to interrupt, but to make sure the underline Owen’s talent and achievement.
“The other thing is, he’s a million miles away from Jamie,” Graham said. “He’s one of the sweetest kids you’ll ever meet. His mum and dad are lovely, they come from a beautiful, supportive, caring family. So for him to play this role, to tap into that kind of anger — it’s completely alien to him.”
“Him and Phil worked meticulously to shape this character, because this isn’t a kid who goes around shouting in people’s faces. And that’s the duality we wanted — the light and dark in every human being, the complexity of Jamie as a character. And Owen just instinctively knew how to bring that out.”
“And the thing is,” Graham continued, grinning, “we’d finish a heavy scene — one of those where everyone in the room is in bits, people crying, just wrecked — and then someone would ask, ‘Where’s Owen?’ And you’d look around, and he’s upstairs playing swing ball. No decompression needed, just straight into a game, laughing with the child psychologist. That’s his magic. He has no idea what he’s creating in those moments. And that’s what makes him a once-in-a-generation talent.”
Finding Jamie
Finding someone like Owen Cooper took time, patience, and a careful search.
“You look at 500 kids on tape, do you know what I mean?” Graham said. “Phil went through the whole lot, along with our amazing casting director, Shaheen Baig. They scoured the North, casting a vast net, looking at tape after tape. And out of all those incredible young actors who put themselves forward, this gem popped through.
“But it wasn’t just him. There was a group of them — five in the end — who made it to the shortlist, and we did a full day’s workshop with them. What made this process special, though, was that from the very beginning, Phil and I, along with Hannah, Jack, and Jo Johnson, agreed on something: normally in this industry, if you don’t get the part, it’s ‘thank you, well done, good luck next time.’ But we didn’t want to do that.
“From the start, I said, ‘These five lads are going to be in this piece.’ Even if they didn’t get this particular role, we wanted them to be part of it. And they all said yes. So every single one of them is in the series, playing great characters. That was another incredible part of the process — creating opportunities, which is exactly what we set out to do.”
For Ashley Walters, working with Owen Cooper was a reminder of why he fell in love with acting in the first place.
“It totally revived acting for me,” he admitted. “There was a light that was slowly dying, and coming on set, watching Owen, reminded me what acting is all about — because he was so pure.
“And that’s why he could go and play swing ball after, you know?” Walters laughed. “We take it so seriously. Over the years, it piles on — you’re always thinking about the craft, the next job, the pressure of it all. And then he comes in, completely casual, just in it. It’s like watching kids play, completely free, believing in every moment. That’s what we’re all trying to get back to.
“I spent most of the time just watching him in awe, thinking, How the hell is he doing this? Because it’s magic.”
He turned to Cooper with a nod. “But it’s not just magic — it’s skill. You’re a very skilled actor, man. And I hope you go on to great things, because I think you will.”
“Thank you,” Cooper replied.
And that’s it. This Zoom conversation with Stephen Graham, Owen Cooper, Ashley Walters and Erin Doherty was held as a moderated Zoom call on March 11, 2025. Most of this article was based on the transcript from that call.
You can read my review of Adolescence here:
