Stephen Graham Slams BAFTA Over Peaky Blinders Snub: “Keep Your Hollow Awards”
According to the CinemaDrame News Agency, Stephen Graham has criticized the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) for its consistent failure to recognize Cillian Murphy’s performance in Peaky Blinders.
The 52-year-old actor, speaking to The Guardian, argued that acting is inherently subjective and questioned the validity of industry awards. “What we do isn’t like football. It’s not a competitive sport. There are no winners and losers. It’s all subjective,” Graham said. “I might see a piece of work that I think is absolute rubbish, and yet it wins five bloody BAFTAs. In fact, that’s happened many times.”
The This Is England star pointed to Murphy as a prime example of the system’s flaws. “I might get myself in trouble for saying this, but Cillian Murphy, right? An extraordinary actor. He never won a BAFTA for playing Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders. It’s one of the best performances I’ve ever seen in my life. What does that even mean?”
From 2013 to 2022, Murphy portrayed the ruthless gangster Tommy Shelby across six seasons of the Steven Knight-penned crime drama. Despite critical acclaim, he never secured an Emmy or a BAFTA for the role, though he did receive a BAFTA nomination in 2023. He is set to reprise the character in the upcoming film The Immortal Man.
Discussing his own recent success with Netflix’s Adolescence, Graham noted, “Works like Adolescence that impact the collective consciousness just appear suddenly. The fact that we were able to make it at all is the real victory.”
Since its release in March 2025, Adolescence has earned a total of eight Emmy Awards, and its success is expected to continue through the upcoming BAFTA, SAG, and Golden Globe ceremonies.
However, Graham insisted that the connection a show makes with its audience outweighs any trophy. “When a man comes up to me in Tesco and says, ‘I just want to thank you because I had a really great conversation with my son last night after watching your show’—without being disrespectful, you can keep the awards and all that hollow glitz. That connection is the real honor.”
Stephen Graham is set to return in the second season of A Thousand Blows, premiering on Disney+ on January 9, 2026.
