Stephen Graham has an unusual way of connecting with his characters – their shoes.

The This Is England actor said once he gets the footwear right, he is on the right track to start becoming the people he plays.

Asked whether he used a prop to get into character as Detective David Knight in his new crime thriller Hyena, he admitted: “What I like to do is find the shoes for the character and then sort of embody the physicality and stuff.

Stephen Graham at a premiere
Stephen Graham plays a detective in Hyena (Joel Ryan/Invision/PA)

“Years ago I got these brown, suede Gucci loafers. I bought them in a pub and took then home and my wife Hannah went: ‘What the hell are they?’ I said: ‘They’re great; they’re Guccis.’ She said: ‘I don’t care what they are; they’re disgusting!’

“I left them at the bottom of the wardrobe and I knew they’d come in handy some day, so when I was playing this part, I thought, ‘I know exactly what I’ll use; I’ll use them shoes’. So that’s what I did, and it was a way into the character.”

Stephen, 41, starred in Get Santa last year and admitted it had given him a taste for some lighter roles.

He said: “I’ve just finished This Is England 90, and it was all very emotional and very powerful, tears coming down my face, and I turned round to [director] Shane [Meadows] and I went: ‘I can do comedy you know!’

“And we just burst out laughing. He said: ‘Yeah. I know. I’d love to do a comedy with you’, so fingers crossed I’d like to do a bit more comedy.”

:: Hyena will be released in cinemas on March 6.