What I’m saying is that Graham – despite telling a few porky pies here and there – is an actual grown up. He’s settled. Stable. A single dad with his priorities straight. He gives Amanda space to process the mess of her break-up and the childhood trauma that’s clearly meant she has an avoidant attachment style. (A lot happens in circa three days.) And to viewers he feels like a safe space – a man who’s already done the hard work of figuring out who he is, with no trace of the insecurity or chaos that characterises so many of today’s leading men. The kind of guy who would pick you up from the afters, make you a Sunday roast, put on a David Attenborough documentary and make sure you drank enough water.
It’s this combination of emotional maturity and actual maturity that has TikTok users hooked. In a time when dating discourse often revolves around the horror of situationships; how much of a hellscape dating apps are and men generally being dicks, he’s the kind of romantic lead everyone’s craving.
In fact, just look at the characters audiences have fallen in love with this year. While in the past the most lusted-after male leads have tended to fall into two camps – bad boys who need to be tamed or floppy-haired man-children – in 2024 there’s been a shift. Graham is arguably a direct predecessor of Adam Brody’s warm, charming rabbi in TV romcom Nobody Wants This. Bridgerton’s focus on Luke Newton’s flawed but ultimately loyal, kind and gentle Colin feels linked. So does our obsession with sweet, funny Andrew Garfield and his Chicken Shop flirtation with Amelia Dimoldenberg. It’s nice guys (who can talk about their feelings) coming first.
But Graham’s appeal extends beyond romance. There’s something more to it I think. For those of us whose lives revolve around tiny flats, late nights, and endless doom scrolling, even as we head towards our forties, he offers a vision of a slower life. Falling for Graham isn’t just about falling for Jude Law (though, obviously, that helps), it’s about stepping into his small-town idyll, trading city chaos and late-night work calls for an escapist fantasy, one where you’re not just falling for hot, kind Jude Law, you’re also stepping into his ready-made, perfect family and even more perfect cottage, where the wildest adventure is a hot chocolate-fuelled car ride through snowy lanes, and going for lunch doesn’t involve scouring endless TikToks of best restaurants in London, just heading to what looks like the nearest National Trust property. It’s not a life I actually want but there’s inherited nostalgia to it – the same “simple life” appeal that people find attractive about farmy trad wife TikToks, just without any of the weird trad wife stuff. In fact, for a man in 2006, Graham is surprisingly progressive. (It makes sense, he was written by a woman.)
And now for the plot twist: a sequel might be on the horizon. Nancy Meyers recently posted a video with Law, her first reunion with him since filming wrapped nearly two decades ago. In the clip, she cheekily asks, “Is there going to be a sequel?” Law’s response? A sly grin, followed by a familiar flourish: draping a napkin on his head and donning glasses over the top, resurrecting Mr Napkin Head in all his ridiculous glory.
Is it happening? Who knows. But for now, we’ll be here, rewatching The Holiday and thirsting over Graham, our handsome, emotionally evolved rom-com king.
