The 51-year-old is often regarded as one of the nicest actors in the business.

Thomas Turgoose starred alongside Graham in 2006's This Is England.

Then 13-year-old Turgoose played Shaun Fields, a young boy who becomes involved with a skinhead group, which features the violent and racist Combo played by Graham.

Shaun idolises Combo at first before he realise the true extent of his nature.

Turgoose and Graham had several scenes together and developed a close bond.

Right after This Is England was wrapped, Turgoose's mother passed away from lung cancer, meaning that she would not get to see her son act.

Speaking to the Private Parts podcast, Turgoose spoke of This Is England director, Shane Meadows, dedicating the project to his late mother.

He said: "My mum passed away from lung cancer after I finished filming This Is England. She never got to see the finished film.

"Shane Meadows dedicated the film to my mum. Stephen Graham promised my mum he'd look out for me.

"Everyone involved in This is England are family to me."

Turgoose was still very young at the time and was meant to live with his father that he didn't know very well.

He said that both Graham and Meadows offered to take him into their homes if things did not work out.

Turgoose added: "When my mum died I moved in with my dad and I didn't know him, so Shane Meadows and Steven Graham were going to adopt me if things didn't work out with my dad."

He confessed that his breakout role in This Is England saved him from a very different life.

The 33-year-old said: "I was destined for prison. Shoplifting things I didn't need. There was a hardware store in Grimsby that I used to steal spray paint from for no reason."