Hollywood stars Stephen Graham and Leonardo DiCaprio proved their enduring friendship with a warm embrace at the 2026 AFI Awards in Los Angeles on Friday night. The pair, whose bond dates back over two decades, were seen mingling and sharing laughter at the prestigious event, which honours the year's most outstanding films and television programmes.
An Unlikely Bond Forged on Set
The 52-year-old star of Netflix's hit series Adolescence had the 51-year-old Oscar winner in hysterics during the ceremony. Their camaraderie stems from a memorable, and nearly disastrous, meeting on the set of Martin Scorsese's 2002 epic, Gangs of New York. Graham, who had a minor supporting role in the film starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Cameron Diaz, recently recounted the tale on The Tonight Show.
He revealed that he almost broke DiCaprio's leg in a golf cart accident. "Leo used to drive a golf cart. You know, the way they drive golf carts on big sets and stuff," Graham explained. "So I asked him for a go. I said, 'Can I have a go on the golf cart?' And he was like, 'Uh... yeah, okay'."
What followed was a scene of pure slapstick. Graham accelerated downhill, locked the back wheels by throwing it into reverse, and caused the cart to topple slowly. "It looks like it's gonna break his leg," Graham recalled, with DiCaprio reportedly exclaiming, "What the f***?!" Fortunately, the incident ended in laughter rather than injury, cementing a unique friendship.
Awards Season in Full Swing
The AFI Awards luncheon is a key stop for Oscar hopefuls during the awards season. This year's top ten films, as selected by the American Film Institute, include major studio releases and streaming hits such as Avatar: Fire and Ash, Frankenstein from Netflix, and Wicked: For Good.
Leonardo DiCaprio later posed for a photograph with Graham's wife, actress Hannah Walters, who looked glamorous in a blue satin dress. The event also saw Graham celebrating with his Adolescence co-star, the award-winning Erin Doherty.
Adolescence Continues Its Award Dominance
The Netflix limited series Adolescence, which explores the story of a boy accused of murder after discovering 'incel' culture online, continues to clean up this awards season. After winning eight Emmys in 2025, the show added four more trophies at the recent Critics Choice Awards.
Its teenage star, Owen Cooper, made history once again. At 16, he is the youngest male Emmy winner and added a Critics Choice Award for Best Supporting Actor to his accolades, beating his co-star Ashley Walters. Stephen Graham won Best Actor, while Erin Doherty took home Best Supporting Actress for the series, which averages around 45 million views per month globally.
With the AFI also presenting a Special Award to Iranian director Jafar Panahi's film It Was Just an Accident, the event underscored the diverse and powerful storytelling defining the current cinematic landscape. For Graham and DiCaprio, it was also a chance to celebrate a friendship that has survived a very rocky, and nearly leg-breaking, start.
