James Nelson-Joyce is following in the footsteps of his mentor, Stephen Graham. The two share the screen together as brothers in new Disney+ show, A Thousand Blows, which lands on the streaming platform this Friday (February 21).
The crime drama, from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, is inspired by true events and explores the brutal bare knuckle boxing scene of 1880s London. James stars as Treacle Goodson in the blockbuster six part series, which follows his efforts to help brother, Sugar, run their boxing empire with an iron first.
Playing Stephen’s brother wasn’t too hard for James to capture as he told the ECHO in an exclusive interview how the Scouse actors share a family-like bond away from the screen. The 35-year-old said: “He is the most generous man I’ve ever met. Through good times and bad times, Stephen has always been there as a shoulder to cry on.”
He added: “Stephen and [his wife] Hannah [Walters] are so rare in this industry. It is quite a selfish industry, but they are so generous and so loving. I’m just very fortunate that Stephen takes time out of his day to care. I don’t have the words to say for him.”
James grew up in Walton and was inspired by Stephen’s rise to stardom in the 2000s to believe he could make his own acting dreams a reality. He said: “I didn’t know a single person who was an actor where I’m from. No one in my school wanted to be an actor and I just didn’t know the world.
“Then you watch Stephen in films like This Is England and Gangs of New York and it makes you think, ‘Scousers can do this.'” James made the move to London aged 21 to study at drama school and met his acting hero for the first time in the capital when he spotted him having a meal in Nando’s.
He told the ECHO: “I remember thinking if there is ever someone you can go over to, then it’s a Scouser. I lived in London for 12 years and if I ever heard a Scouse accent at Euston Station, I’d always go over and speak to them.
“It’s home isn’t it and I’m so immensely proud of where I’m from. Scousers back our own and look after each other.” James approached the 51-year-old Kirkby star and hailed him as his favourite actor during their chance encounter at the restaurant.
He clearly made an impression as Stephen remembered him as “that lad from Nando’s” years later when they filmed Little Boy Blue together. Their friendship has blossomed ever since working on the ITV show and James has gone from “that lad in Nando’s” to one of Liverpool’s finest actors, who has earned a glowing reputation for his scene stealing performances that raise the energy levels every time he is on screen.
Stephen’s company, Matriarch Productions, produced A Thousand Blows and he knew the intensity and humanity James brings to any character would be perfect for Treacle, so he suggested he audition for the part. The actor was in Mykonos for his friend’s wedding when Stephen FaceTime called him to let him know show bosses agreed and he had progressed to the next stage of auditions.
The Bird star admitted he started to lose faith whether he would land the role when he discovered he was up against “two really big names” for the part and worried if bosses would go for someone who already spoke with the character’s Cockney accent. However, he said had an unexpected advantage when he turned up for the final stages of the audition, which was a chemistry read alongside Stephen.
He said: “I walked into the room and me and Stephen are wearing the exact same clothes. I’m not even lying. I hadn’t even planned it, I swear down on my sisters’ lives. We’ve both got the same trackie on, same trainers, but different colours.
“Everyone in the room was asking, ‘have you planned this?’ I was like, ‘No, we genuinely haven’t’.” However, it was more than their shared love for a Stone Island tracksuit that proved James had what it takes to be Stephen’s ideal scene partner.
The test scene saw the two perform an emotional heart to heart and James revealed he looked close to home for inspiration. He told the ECHO: “When building these characters, who are two brothers in the boxing world, who love each other dearly and would do anything for each other, I thought of The Smith brothers.”
The actor took the bold move to mix up the dynamics of the chemistry read as he explained: “We’d done two takes and I pulled the director to one side and said, ‘How about I don’t say a word and we let the tension build?’ Me and Stephen have got that chemistry for free and we’ve known each other for donkey’s years.
“I just didn’t reply to Stephen when he was asking questions and Stephen just switched. It was something in the room. I took a chance and I took a risk and it was either I’m going to get the role off the back of this or I’m not.”
James’ risky move more than paid off as he soon bagged the part, which is the latest in his flourishing career. After A Thousand Blows, the actor will quickly return to our screens in spring for BBC crime drama, This City Is Ours, and he has also been announced as part of the cast for Black Mirror season 7.
James admitted he has to “pinch himself” with how his career continues to go from strength to strength as he looks set to emulate his mentor and be another ambassador for what working class creatives are capable of when they are given a chance. Working class representation in the arts is something important to James and he is honoured to give back in any way he can as he explained he wouldn’t be where he is today without his Liverpudlian upbringing.
He said: “We’re not the most privileged city in the world when it comes to finances, but culturally I’d say we are the most privileged. There is a beauty of Liverpool where we have a freedom to express ourselves and be unapologetic for our views.