Stephen Graham has revealed he was told off by Line Of Duty creator Jed Mercurio for being too ‘dramatic’ when he choked on his blood during his death scene.
The actor, 46, spoke about the moment DS John Corbett died after having his throat slit in series five, on the Graham Norton Show, which is set to air on New Year’s Eve.
Stephen also looked back at The Irishman and told the host, 56, how Joe Pesci told him to speak in his character’s Italian accent off camera because the actor couldn’t understand his thick Liverpudlian accent.
Woops: Stephen Graham has revealed he was told off by Line Of Duty creator Jed Mercurio for being too ‘dramatic’ when he choked on his blood during his death scene
Talking about his chilling death in Line Of Duty, Stephen said former doctor Mercurio, 53, told him ‘you wouldn’t choke on your own blood’ when Stephen tried to be ‘dramatic’ in the scene.
‘The weird thing about it is when you work on a death scene you want to do it as real as possible but Jed (Mercurio) used to be doctor so when I was being dramatic in rehearsal he would say things like, “You wouldn’t do it like that, you wouldn’t choke on your own blood.”
‘I actually said to him, “How many people’s throats have you slit?”
Funny: Stephen also looked back at The Irishman and said how Joe Pesci (left) told him to speak in his character’s Italian accent off camera because he couldn’t understand his accent
Awkward: Stephen was asked by Pesci why he was talking in his normal accent before the star told him to speak in character so he could understand him
Chilling: The actor, 46, spoke about the moment DS John Corbett died after having his throat slit in series five, on the Graham Norton Show, which is set to air on New Year’s Eve
‘He talked me through how you would die in that situation – it’s really irritating that you can’t argue with a doctor.’
Stephen went on to talk about his role in the mobster film The Irishman as Anthony “Tony Pro” Provenzano alongside Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci.
And Stephen, who is from Liverpool, also said his The Irishman co-star Joe Pesci questioned his accent and asked him to talk in character so he could understand him.
Speaking of his first meeting with the Hollywood star, 76, Stephen said: ‘Awkward is not the word.
Telling off: Talking about his chilling death in Line Of Duty, Stephen said former doctor Mercurio, 53, told him ‘you wouldn’t choke on your own blood’ during his death scene
‘It was the first couple of days of filming, and I was told that he wanted to see me. He asked, ‘Where are you from?’ I said, ‘I’m from England, Liverpool’ and he went, “You’re not Italian?”
‘I apologised for it and he was like, “Okay, you’d better do this right,’ to which I said, ‘I’ll do my best.”
And when the pair met a few days later, Pesci then asked him why he was speaking in his normal accent.
He said: ‘A few days later he came up to me and said, ‘You’re doing really well, come and have some dinner. But then he said, “Why are you talking like that? Why don’t you talk as your character so I can understand you?”
The star went on to be told what he said was the ‘worst thing’ an actor can hear – when Joe told him ‘I wanted your part’.
‘I was like, “But your part’s massive, you’ve got loads to do.” And he said, “I knew Tony (Provenzano) so make sure you do a good job.’
‘The meeting really couldn’t have got any worse!,’ he added.
The Graham Norton Show airs on BBC One, 31st December at 10.20pm.
The Graham Norton Show: Airs on BBC One, 31st December at 10.20pm (pictured L-R Anthony Joshua, Stephen, Tom Hanks, Matthew Rhys, Motsi Mabuse, Florence Pugh and Melanie C)
