Stephen Graham is already regarded as one of the most highly acclaimed actors on British television, earning critical praise for a series of hard-hitting roles, from This Is England to Line of Duty.

However, the 51-year-old star astonished fans on Wednesday when he revealed his incredible transformation, having overhauled his physique for a demanding new role in Stephen Knight’s upcoming Disney+ drama A Thousand Blows.

A first-look image from the series showcased the TV hardman’s bulked-up and tattooed physique as seasoned fighter Sugar Goodson in the drama, which has been penned by Peaky Blinders creator Stephen Knight.

While Stephen’s new appearance may have surprised some, it will come as no shock to regulars at Premier Gym in Leicester, where the star spent months training with a bodybuilder to bulk up for the role.

Social media posts from the gym, and from the actor himself, provide a glimpse into the gruelling workouts he endured to enhance his physique for the new series.

Stephen even jokingly remarked that he had been ‘putting the graft in’ to get into shape for his latest role, quipping, ‘You’d best ask my missus, like!’

Of course, this isn’t the first time Stephen has committed to intense preparations for a role. In 2020, he teamed up with a fitness trainer to portray Detective Mulligan in Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

A Look Back at Stephen’s Impressive Transformation as He Prepares for Another Major Role

Shedding the ‘Dad Bod’

In 2020, Stephen collaborated with HB Training to get in shape for his role in the upcoming Venom sequel, Let There Be Carnage.

The gym shared a post on Facebook praising the star’s progress in his transformation, noting that he had been fitting his workouts around his ‘busy’ lifestyle.

Stephen came to the gym hoping to shed his so-called ‘dad bod’ and get into better shape for his upcoming role, aiming to be ‘leaner’ while maintaining a ‘healthy and manageable lifestyle.’

They mentioned that as part of his pre-role preparations, they had to devise a ‘precise’ training and nutrition plan, adding, ‘He only had access to the food available on the go, which we worked around.’

Although Stephen hadn’t yet completed his transformation, HB Training added, ‘He is currently getting stronger and leaner each week. We’re not finished yet. This is just the beginning—he’ll be in even better shape in the coming months.’

Impressive before-and-after photos showed how Stephen had slimmed down and embraced a leaner physique, which he maintained when starring opposite Colin Farrell in the BBC drama The North Water.

Beginning His Boxer Transformation

Months before fans caught their first glimpse of Stephen’s new role, the star began intense preparations by joining Premier Gym.

He shared a video from his first day at the gym back in September 2022, with the caption: ‘Training starts…’

In the clip, Stephen commenced his regime with cardio work on the rowing machine, before moving on to weightlifting machines, including tricep rope pulls.

The video also showed the star doing press-ups with heavy weights chained to his legs, followed by various arm extension and bicep press exercises.

Training with a Bodybuilding Champion

Stephen worked with bodybuilder Rob Thurston to bulk up his physique, enduring exercises such as press-ups with heavy weights chained to him in a bid to boost his muscle mass.

Rob himself shared a video of the intense exercise regimen in February 2023, detailing how the star had added muscle mass and reduced body fat in preparation for his role as a boxer.

He captioned the post: ‘Putting in the graft! @stephengraham has undergone an incredible physical transformation, adding tons of muscle mass and stripping body fat in preparation for his new role in a series from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight.’

Discussing his new role on the final edition of Soccer AM, he said: ‘We’re working on this great series called A Thousand Blows, written by Steve Knight.

‘It’s about two young Jamaicans who came over during the 1800s, including Hezekiah Moscow.

‘He became an amazing fighter, and it’s about his story and his life, how he established himself in East London.’

He added: ‘I play Sugar Goodson. I’ve got a brother called Treacle Goodson—we’re the Goodson brothers. We’re bare-knuckle fighters, so I’ve been getting in shape, learning how to fight.

‘I’ve put the graft in—you’d best ask my missus, like!’

Unveiling His New Look

On Wednesday, Stephen debuted his bulked-up physique for the first time in a new image from A Thousand Blows.

While the image also showcased Stephen’s toned new torso, it also offered a glimpse at a new tattoo that had been painted onto his chest for the character.

Bodybuilder Rob also shared the new image on his Instagram, writing: ‘For those of you who have seen Stephen busting his ass with me week in, week out over the last year…. Coming soon.’

Echoing his work on Peaky Blinders, show creator Steven Knight has based A Thousand Blows around a real-life crime syndicate—this time the London-based 19th and 20th-century gang Forty Elephants, an exclusively female group of shoplifters.

The series will follow the fortunes of two Jamaican immigrants who find themselves in Victorian London’s violently unpredictable East End, where they make an enemy in feared bare-knuckle fighter Goodson, played by Graham.

It’s understood that Graham conceived the rough idea for the show during the pandemic before asking his close friend Knight, with whom he worked on Peaky Blinders, to flesh it out.

Discussing the show’s development with Radio Times, Knight said: ‘[Stephen] contacted me and said, "Would you write an hour on this?" I said, "All right then".’