Adolescence star Stephen Graham has broken down in tears while recalling a heartfelt moment with his dad.

The actor, who also co-created the new Netflix drama, opened up about telling his dad that he was working with his idol Robert De Niro in The Irishman, having had posters of the star on his wall growing up.

"I had posters on my wall of Taxi Driver and different actors my dad had got me," he told Capital, before presenter Jordan North noted that he ended up appearing alongside De Niro.

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"Can you imagine [telling my dad]?" Graham shared. "Can you imagine what that phone call was like? It makes me wanna go on it!

"I went, 'You'll never guess who I'm gonna be working with?' He was like, 'Who?' And I was like, [Martin Scorsese's] asked me to do a film again.' And he's like, 'Oh wow, that's amazing son!' I went, 'Yeah…'."

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Graham then got emotional and teary as he recalled: "My dad, he proper backed me, and my mum. They supported me throughout everything, do you know what I mean? All the struggles you go through and everything."

The star quipped that his "contact lens has come out" amid his tears, before admitting that working with De Niro was "unbelievable".

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Netflix

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Graham went on to tell the presenters that his father did believe him when he gave him the De Niro news, and was "so proud".

"Sometimes it only takes one person to help you achieve your goal or to believe in the dream that you have," he added. "It takes that one person, and my dad was that person, and my mum."

Adolescence has drawn huge acclaim since its premiere last week, debuting to a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Adolescence is available on Netflix now.

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Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International.  Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i' as a sub-editor.