One A Role STEPHEN GRAHAM IS HENRY ‘SUGAR’ GOODSON
THE ACTOR PLAYS AN EAST END BOXER IN PERIOD SERIES A THOUSAND BLOWS
WORDS SOPHIE BUTCHER
Stephen Graham bulks up for the role of Sugar Goodson in
A Thousand Blows
THE BODY
Stephen Graham’s first step when getting into character for Steven Knight’s Victorian-era drama was transforming his body into that of a seasoned, fearsome bare-knuckle fighter. “My objective was to get big,” he tells Empire. “I thought, ‘I’m going to eat —literally —sleep, dream this character,’ in terms of the physicality.” The actor seriously bulked up, thanks to an intense workout routine. “It was five solid days a week of training, five meals a day, loads of protein, ice baths,” he remembers. “I became like a proper athlete.” At points, Graham didn’t even recognise himself. “I’ve never been that big,” he says. “It changed the way I sat, the way I conducted myself. The first day of filming, the director went, ‘Do you want to look at the playback?’ And I remember going, ‘Is that me?!’ I couldn’t believe it.”