Apple TV’s psychological crime thriller Nocturne presents Stephen Graham in a startling new light: as a sociopathic serial killer whose charm is every bit as dangerous as his violence.
The series draws from The Sandman and Lazarus, two novels in Lars Kepler’s 10-book “Joona Linna” series. Written by husband-and-wife authors Alexander Ahndoril and Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril, the story centers on the notorious Jurek Walter (Graham), who is suspected of murdering more than half a dozen people and abducting two young siblings. Although Jurek is confined to a concrete cell in the Restricted Housing Unit of Riverside Psychiatric Hospital, he spends the season manipulating events from behind bars and unsettling everyone around him.
Speaking with DECIDER, Graham explained that the demanding role required an extensive transformation and preparation process. He trained physically, worked with a voice coach, studied psychopathy and sociopathy, and even watched crime documentaries with his wife.
“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 over Zoom before Nocturne’s October 30 premiere. “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. So I worked a lot with my trainer back home, Rob. He was fantastic. And we got into quite good shape. For a 53-year-old, I was happy with where we got to. I like to work externally and then bring it into the internal.”
Jurek’s muscular build marks a significant departure from the novels, where the character is described as an emaciated man in his 60s. Yet viewers soon discover that he rarely needs brute force to control people. Instead, the expert manipulator identifies their vulnerabilities and exploits them through psychological warfare. He is already using that power when he performs pull-ups during his first encounter with Karl (Rory Culkin), a compassionate new nurse.
“[Jurek] picks up on people’s vulnerabilities, and he can read people really well,” Graham explained. “He notices that in the outside world, Karl is kind of invisible, so for the first time, he’s going to make Karl feel seen and be present.”
Graham also sought to make Jurek’s manipulation audible, creating several deeply unsettling voices for the character.
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“I had an amazing voice coach, Susanne [Sulby], who was just wonderful. She was absolutely brilliant. And I had these ideas of wanting to find two different types of voices for this man. The true him, and then this kind of illusion that he plays, this chameleon character that he can be to charm and get the things that he wants, and to be able to manipulate Karl in particular,” Graham said.
As DECIDER’s full Nocturne review notes, Culkin brings remarkable sensitivity to Karl, a gentle soul struggling with his tendency to see Jurek as a human being rather than a monster. Their brief conversations through a wired window and small door hatches form one of the series’ most intriguing dynamics. Graham and Culkin generate a palpable chemistry that gives their unlikely relationship an unexpectedly intimate quality.
Graham said he and Culkin deliberately embraced the tension at the center of their psychological connection. “We played with that ambiguous sexuality a little bit, which is real fun to do,” he said, praising Culkin and describing their collaboration as a “wonderful” process.
“Rory’s such a wonderful actor. You get in there and just play. Our directors were also great. Each one for every single [two-episode] block that we did was fantastic. And they were always looking, which I found really interesting, for new ways to develop our relationship,” Graham recalled. “It was great, because every time we’d finish a block, a new director would come with, ‘Oh, look…I was thinking about this as well.’ And we were like, ‘Yeah. We like that. Let’s go down that road for a little bit.’ It was a joy to play.”
Building Jurek’s layered presence took time and precision, from his eerie laugh and meditative stillness to his calculating gestures, faint smiles, and icy stares. That painstaking work ultimately produced a gripping adaptation and a standout performance from Graham—one that becomes more chilling with every episode.
Stay tuned for more of DECIDER’s interview with Graham, along with the cast and showrunner of Nocturne.
New episodes of Nocturne premiere Fridays on Apple TV.