Stephen Graham is headlining yet another must-see TV show, and this time he’s a vicious serial killer on Apple TV’s “Nocturne”. More than a year following his Emmy-winning performance on the Netflix series “Adolescence,” Graham co-leads “Nocturne” as Jurek Walter, a cunning and manipulative murderer held at a psychiatric hospital when the story begins.
Based on the Lars Kepler crime novels “Lazurus” and “The Sandman,” Apple TV’s “Nocturne” immediately generates an air of suspense as detective Jonah Lynn (Liev Schreiber) finds himself pulled out of retirement when one of Walter’s missing victims emerges. While Jonah reopens the investigation, his FBI agent surrogate daughter Saga Bauer (Zazie Beetz) goes undercover in an attempt to find out the truth of Jurek’s crimes from the killer himself.
TV critics have given their verdict on “Nocturne,” and it’s overwhelmingly positive. The 10-episode series currently holds an 85% score on Rotten Tomatoes and a rating of 70 on Metacritic. Many reviewers pointed out Graham’s portrayal of Jurek as a highlight, while others praised the narrative’s constant tension and thorough examination of grief and guilt.
How Stephen Graham entered the mind of a killer in Nocturne
Stephen Graham has portrayed mobsters, murderers, and other morally bankrupt characters throughout his acting career. Thus, it might seem the role of Jurek Walter on “Nocturne” came easy to Graham, but the actor found playing serial killer a challenge he hasn’t faced before. Jurek’s layered qualities compelled Graham to think outside the box when crafting his performance.
In an interview with Decider, he revealed that in addition to consuming a hefty amount of serial killer media to understand the mind of his character, he focused on Jurek’s physical prowess during his preparation for the part. “A lot of it, at the very beginning, once I’d read the script and I had an idea of where I might go, it was the physical aspect that I wanted to create,” Graham said. “I wanted to try and create a man who was menacing in a way, but who had the capability of killing you with his bare hands.” An extremely perceptive man with a keen eye for an individual’s weaknesses, Jurek forms a fascinating relationship with Liev Schreiber’s Jonah and even shares an intriguing dynamic with his nurse Karl, played by Rory Culkin.
With “Nocturne,” “Adolescence,” and his underrated period drama “A Thousand Blows,” Graham has been on a roll as of late. Apple TV subscribers can catch new episodes of “Nocturne” weekly on Fridays.
