Actor Stephen Graham is to be honoured by Sir Paul McCartney in a ceremony at his performing arts school in Liverpool.
Graham, who grew up in the Merseyside town of Kirkby, will be presented with a companionship of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) by the former Beatle and co-founder of the school.
Emmy award-winning Graham, who has previously described himself as “just a mixed-race kid from Kirkby” will be given the honour at LIPA’s graduation ceremony on Tuesday.
LIPA’s principal and CEO, Prof Sean McNamara, said it would be “a milestone graduation for us” as they marked their 30th anniversary.
Graham, who is also a writer and producer, cut his teeth at the Everyman Youth Theatre in Liverpool.
He went on to find widespread fame with his performance in Shane Meadows’ 2006 film This Is England before starring on the big and small screen on both sides of the Atlantic.
He won an Emmy for his starring role in acclaimed Netflix drama Adolescence, when he played Eddie Miller, the father of a teenage boy accused of killing a female schoolmate.
Graham is one of five leading figures from the creative industries who will be awarded a LIPA companionship during the ceremony.
McNamara said it was fitting that they celebrated the achievements of LIPA graduates alongside the “outstanding artists, producers and managers” who are to be made LIPA companions.