- - “Adolescence” Star Erin Doherty Ignored Stephen Graham's Calls When He Offered Her Emmy-Winning Role

Brenton BlanchetDecember 23, 2025 at 9:44 PM

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Sam Simpson/Dave Benett/Getty; Daniele Venturelli/WireImage

From Left: Erin Doherty in November 2025; and Stephen Graham in October 2025 -

Erin Doherty of Adolescence revealed that she initially didn't pick up the phone when Stephen Graham tried to reach her about a potential role in the Netflix series

The actress later won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie Emmy at the 2025 Primetime Emmys

“I’m just really bad at my phone. I’m such a technophobe, and he knew that,” she said

Erin Doherty didn't answer the phone when she was offered one of her biggest roles yet — but it wasn't on purpose!

The Adolescence star, 33, revealed in a new interview with The Guardian that she unknowingly ignored multiple calls from series star and writer-producer Stephen Graham when he tried to recruit her for Adolescence.

Both Graham, 52, and Doherty have since won Emmys for their performances in the Netflix series.

“I’m just really bad at my phone. I’m such a technophobe, and he knew that,” she said.

As Doherty explained to the outlet, Graham and his wife, Hannah Walters, continually tried to call her after she acted alongside them in the Disney+ series, A Thousand Blows. Eventually, she got back in touch with them, was offered the role of clinical psychologist Briony Ariston in Adolescence and agreed to join the cast on the spot, she said.

“I was getting voice notes from him and Hannah being like, ‘Erin, pick up your phone,' " she joked.

Courtesy of Netflix© 2024

From Left: Erin Doherty as Briony Ariston and Owen Cooper as Jamie Miller in 'Adolescence'.

The four-episode limited series, which follows a British family as their 13-year-old son is accused and arrested for murdering a teenage girl in his class, arrived in March on the streamer.

It scored 8 wins during the 77th annual Primetime Emmy Awards in September, with Doherty winning the trophy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie and Graham taking home the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology or Movie.

“I hope that it continues to be talked about,” she told The Guardian in the interview, which was published on Tuesday, Dec. 23. “Without being a wanky actor, the dream is that you reach through the screen and you speak to people, and so I hope that people keep going back to it, and keep having those conversations.”

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During her speech at the ceremony in September, Doherty joked that it was "looking like I'm just gonna be banging on about Adolescence and Owen Cooper for the rest of my life," referring to her costar.

Cooper made history at the show when he became the youngest-ever winner in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie category at 15.

"I would love to mention every single person that was involved in making his show because it was the definition of a team effort, but I can't get up here without taking about Stephen Graham and Hannah Walters," she said. "You are generosity personified, even though Stephen called me a 'tea cozy' today."

As for Graham, he shared during his speech that this "kind of thing doesn't normally happen to a kid like me." He added, "I'm just a mixed-race kid from a block of flats in a place called Kirkby. So for me to be here today in front of my peers and be acknowledged by you is the utmost humbling thing I could ever imagine in my life. And it shows you that any dream is possible."

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”