In the past 12 months, British actor Stephen Graham has starred in Oscar-nominated film The Irishman, been awarded for his role in the critically acclaimed mini-series The Virtues, and made his (shockingly short-lived) debut in Line Of Duty, one of the biggest TV hits of recent years.
Now, he is testing his comedy chops in new Sky One buddy cop show - with a twist - Code 404, alongside his friend and fellow Line Of Duty alumnus Daniel Mays.
Both actors say it was the funniest set they have ever worked on, but Graham admits he was nervous at first and looked to his co-star for advice.
Speaking to Sky News during an online lockdown interview with other media, the actor said: "At first, I was quite nervous, actually.
"I said to Danny, 'I can't do this mate, I don't really know what to do here'. And he was great with me because he's such a generous actor anyway and a lovely fella. He was like, just do what you do, play it normally… just find the truth in it. I was like, okay. And then that's when I kind of found my place in it."
The series sees Mays' character Detective Inspector John Major, a Met Police special investigations officer and one of the best coppers in the country, killed off in the first episode, shot down during an undercover sting operation.
However, unlike the shock Line Of Duty deaths that saw both actors killed off after just a few episodes on screen (Mays in series three, Graham in series five last year), in Code 404 Mays' character is brought back to life, rebooted thanks to a bit of tech and AI.
Unfortunately, some of the coding or wiring is a little off, leading to a new but not necessarily improved DI Major.
To add insult to injury, in the year it has taken to bring him back, his cop partner Detective Inspector Roy Carver (Graham) and Major's wife Kelly (Anna Maxwell Martin) have moved in together.
Like all classic double acts, says Graham, there's a straight man and a funny man.
"I'm the straight man. So Dan's off doing all these wacky things and his face... some of the faces he pulls had me in stitches. He's great, his comic timing is brilliant. So I just try and play that kind of fella who's a little bit p*ssed off and a bit miserable."
Mays says he plays "the mad one" while Graham's character is "the sensible one".
"They complement each other really well. It's the classic straight man, funny man routine, and you've seen that with Morecambe and Wise and throughout the whole history of comedy - I'm not comparing us to Morecambe and Wise, by the way - but it sort of works, and they complement each other very well."
What other comparisons could be drawn?
"We're kind of like the adopted children of The Two Ronnies meets The Sweeney," says Graham.
Mays has another. "Someone said it was like a love child of Short Circuit and Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em."
Both say they have never had as much fun on set, assuring this isn't something they say about every show.
"It was probably the most fun I've ever had on a set and I've been lucky, I've done some really good stuff and some great things," says Graham. "But I've never laughed so much.
"About three weeks into it I realised I had all these little things on the inside of my lip. And I realised, when the camera's on [Mays], I'm biting my lip... I had proper little dents on the inside of my lip. The amount of times we corpsed and the fun we had, it was just a joy."
Both actors say comedy is important while the nation is in lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic.
"All TV shows are... they seem to have taken on a bigger relevance actually, because it is tough times for all of us," says Mays. "We're all in quarantine, lockdown. And I think if there's ever a time where you need a bit of levity and some laughs and to, you know, just enjoy a TV show, I think Code 404 is the show for you.
"Of course, we all wish that we were not in the middle of a global pandemic and things weren't how they are. But if you need a breath of fresh air and to put a smile on your face, watch a bit of Code 404."
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Graham, who is from Liverpool but lives in Leicestershire with his wife Hannah Walters, also an actor, and their children, says the hardest thing about being in lockdown is not being able to see other family and friends.
"The challenge is not being able to see me ma, give her a big cuddle and all that kind of stuff, seeing friends and family," he says. "Especially on Mother's Day, that was really hard."
However, after his busy year at work, Graham says it is nice to spend time at home.
"I'm very fortunate, I haven't stopped working for a while, so the benefits for me are to be able to actually spend some quality time with my family.
"It's great and we're spending a lot of time together. Hannah's got the home schooling sorted so that's all right, that seems to be the trickiest bit. Spending proper time together, it's lovely."
Watch all episodes of Code 404 on Sky One and NOW TV from 29 April
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April 28, 2020 at 10:32AM
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Stephen Graham: I was nervous about doing comedy after The Irishman and Line Of Duty - Sky News
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