‘He’s Marty’: Stephen Graham says Martin Scorsese ‘has the right’ to criticise Marvel films

Scorsese has made his distaste for superhero films clear in recent years

Stephen Graham has offered his take on director Martin Scorsese’s infamous remarks about Marvel and DC films.

The renowned director made headlines in 2019 for his stance against superhero films, as he claimed they didn’t explore the emotional and psychological complexities of being human enough to be classified as cinema.

“I don’t see them. I tried, you know? But that’s not cinema,” he said at the time.

His comments sparked an ongoing debate about the legitimacy of superhero films as art. Notably, Spider-Man star Tom Holland disputed Scorsese’s words last year, saying that he considers Marvel films to be “real art”.

Other high-profile figures to wade in on the row included Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr, Samuel L Jackson, comic writer Kevin Smith, and director James Gunn.

Graham worked with Scorsese in the Oscar-nominated film The Irishman in 2019, and also starred in Marvel’sVenom: Let There Be Carnage last year.

In a new interview with The Independent published on Saturday (19 November), the Boiling Point star weighed in on Scorsese’s views and said that he “has the right” to feel the way he does.

“He’s Marty. Marty can say whatever he wants, and I’ll agree with him at that particular moment,” he said. “He’s Martin Scorsese. He has the right.”

Stephen Graham and Martin Scorsese (Getty)

Elsewhere in the interview, Graham had kind words for Andy Serkis, who directed him in Venom: Let There Be Carnage and also played villain Ulysses Klaue in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Black Panther.

Calling Serkis as a “fantastic director”, Graham added: “He’s one of the people I looked up to as a young actor coming up. He’s a character actor, which I really love, because, you know, I try to see myself as a similar thing, trying to find the truth in these characters.”

Graham will soon star in Matilda the Musical as the bookish lead’s father, Mr Wormwood. Read his full interview with The Independent here.