Inside Stephen Graham's gruelling training regime after the actor bulked up play a brutal boxer in new Disney+ series A Thousand Blows

Stephen Graham has shared insight into his gruelling training regime after bulking up to play a boxer in new Disney+ series A Thousand Blows.

The actor, 51, plays bare-knuckle champion Sugar Goodson in the show, and underwent a body transformation before the cameras started rolling.

Stephen was taught by a real life boxing expert as well as personal trainer and spent hours in the gym to perfect his physique. 

He told The Mirror:  It wasn't all about having a six-pack, it was about trying to create a street brawler. I put some weight on and then worked on the cutting process'.

'We packed me up in the shoulders and back first - I really wanted that authenticity in my physique. I learnt the fundamental basics and then built on that to create Sugar's unique style and way of fighting. To help make sure he looked like he knew what he was doing'.

The TV hardman will debut his bulked-up and tattooed physique in the drama, which has been penned by Peaky Blinders creator Stephen Knight, when it is released on Disney+ on February 21.

He previously reflected on making the series and said : ‘I turned 50 during filming, but it's the fittest I've ever been. And probably the best I've ever looked.’

Despite the hours of physical endurance in the gym lifting heavy weights, it was the change in his diet that he found ‘hard’.

The Line Of Duty actor said: ‘It was a four month process to reach peak condition. We did it all properly. I had blood tests. My diet was laid out.'

'I followed my workout plan to the letter. I'd smash the gym four times a week doing heavy weightlifting, with boxing training on the other three days.

‘It was a lot but extremely enjoyable. The hard part was the food. I was constantly eating to bulk up. Loads of whey, carbs and protein. Three thousand calories per day. It's difficult to cram that much down you.’

The actor revealed that he channelled two well-known boxers who inspired his performance.

He said: ‘I tried to emulate Mike Tyson and Lenny McLean the 'Guv'nor of unlicensed boxing]. I wanted Tyson's stature and sheer brutality, combined with Lenny's snarling, explosive anger.'

'Win by any means necessary. Elbows. head-butts, anything goes. It's not a tickling competition, it's a bare-knuckle fight.’

Despite being a fictionalised series, the drama is based on people who actually lived.

‘The beauty of this show is that it's rooted in truth. It's fictionalised but based on real people and events,’ Stephen said.

Months before fans got their first glimpse at Stephen's new role, the star began gruelling preparations by joining forces with Premier Gym.

He shared a video from his first day in the gym back in September 2022, with the caption: 'Training starts…'

In the clip, Stephen began his regime with cardio work on the rowing machine, before moving onto weightlifting machines, including tricep rope pulling.

The video also showed the star doing press-ups with heavy weights chained his legs, before various arm extension and bicep press machines.

Stephen worked with bodybuilder Rob Thurston to bulk up his physique, enduring exercises including press-ups with heavy weights chained to him a bid to boost his muscles.

Stephen's wife Hannah, is an executive producer on the series, and also stars as Eliza Moody in the boxing drama. She has previously acted alongside he husband in This Is England and Boiling Point.

Stephen's wife Hannah Walters, 50, who has been married to the Liverpudlian actor since 2008, revealed she can’t get enough of her husband’s bulging new physique.

'I've known this man since he was 19,’ she told British Airways ’ High Life magazine. ‘And, let me tell you. I'm very happy with the results.'

Hannah, is an executive producer on the series, and also stars as Eliza Moody in the boxing drama. She has previously acted alongside he husband in This Is England and Boiling Point.