Ashley Walters interview re: drama Top Boy

17 October 2011

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Having just seen Ashley Walters playing a drug dealer on an East London estate in Top Boy, a gritty new Channel 4 drama, meeting him in the wood-panelled opulence of a Chelsea hotel seems somewhat incongruous. But if the setting is a long way from the mean streets depicted in Top Boy, the conversation returns there time and again. Walters is from a similarly tough background, and his take on growing up in such an environment is tempered by troubles that almost conspired to send him down a very different life path.

Here, he discusses Top Boy, his own run-ins with authority, and his music career, and reveals that he used to do ballet in a leotard and is scared of butterflies. Ashley Walters is a man full of surprises.

 

Your new drama is Top Boy - what's it all about?
It's about three people who live in the same area: Dushane and Sully who are low-level drug dealers, and Ra'Nell, a kid going through so much at home. His mum has mental health issues and his father hasn't been around. His father also has an old school reputation of being someone big, and Ra'Nell is trying to decide which road to go down. Then there's Heather who is someone you would never expect to get into the drug world, but because of the environment she is in and what she sees every day, she goes down that path when she needs the money. The show gives a broad perspective of the different types of people who are caught up in that type of world.

 

Your character is Dushane - what is he like?
He is different from what you would imagine a drug dealer to be; he has a vision that he can get to the top and make his money and then get out of it. He believes that he doesn't have to be feared, or be violent or kill people to get other people to do what he wants them to do. Sully, played by Kane, is totally the opposite, he feels that you can't have that type of reputation without hurting people along the way.

 

Dushane is a relatively likeable and intelligent guy, isn't he?
Yes totally, Dushane could be put in any situation and he will rise to the top, he will work out pretty fast where he will be in the future. For him, it's not necessarily about the drugs and the money, in a strange way it is him being more of a businessman. He understands that there are two people making more money than him, he wants to be second-in-command and eventually the top boy and that's his vision. Throughout the show, he is planning a lot and making chess moves to put him in the right position. I think he is planning way before the audience and especially before Sully starts to realise.

 

There are lots of people who are intelligent living on these estates, people who don't get the right kind of opportunities. Is that one of the messages of the drama?
Everyone is an individual at the end of the day and we all utilise the same things that are around us in our environment. The lack of opportunities out there now and back in the day when I was growing up in Peckham, it is pretty much the same. I think there are actually less opportunities now if I'm honest. There are so many different motivations for people who utilise drugs and get into knife crime. Top Boy isn't the type of programme that is trying to be righteous and have a happy ending, it is just real. It is a real account of events. I can put my hand on my heart and say that, because I'm not far out from these areas, growing up in Peckham and always living in south London. This stuff is pretty much going on in front of my eyes every day.

 

There will also be people saying the show is another negative depiction of stereotypical young black men and showing more drugs and crimes. What do you think of this?
I completely disagree; it is a slice of life. We are constantly trying to hide from these issues that we have. The problem is not solely based in the community that it is happening in, we all need to help to make these things change. Until then, they aren't going to. On the other hand, this is fiction, a drama, it's authentic and real but it's also to entertain people. I guarantee there will be some people that say it's not real and not normal. They will say it has been hyped up to add more suspense and it wouldn't happen in real life. There are lots of people around the country who don't get to witness these type of things and can't understand why this is actually quite normal to people, and I think Top Boy will explain it.

 

You grew up in a similar environment, and had your own troubles, didn't you? [Ashley was convicted of owning a gun.]
Yeah. To say I was fearing for my life might be a little too strong, but I did have a lot of fear at that time. I think a lot of kids out there are carrying a weapon and this is because they are scared that other people have them, rather than having them to go out and commit crime and be a bad boy. I found myself in a similar situation, I was beaten up, shot, stabbed, I was even kidnapped once. I suppose, in my mind, I thought the police weren't doing anything for me and guns were easily accessible and available and I thought I would utilise what was in front of me. The moment I did it, I knew it was wrong. A lot of people who are young and starting families do it to protect themselves. I felt isolated and in fear, and then became paranoid but I think it was the best thing for me in the end. I could base it on my dad going to prison 17 times and I didn't have a good relationship with him. I needed to discover things about myself and society but ultimately I made the decision to buy the fire arm. I was caught with it and did my time in prison, and it was one of the most positive things to have happened to me because that made me realise exactly what I had to do. Everything was taken away from me and I realised how easy it was for that to happen. It changed me as a person, definitely.

 

You were hugely successful with So Solid Crew, you have done both acting and music, what is more important to you?
Currently I'm an actor who does music every now and again - that will be the case until I have a platinum-selling album. Music for me, it's pretty annoying, because I've never had a successful solo career and it bugs me. It's becoming really tedious and annoying because I can hardly fit the music in because I'm filming so much. I'm changing things around trying to get the studio and messing people around. I do want to complete an album when I can dedicate some time to it, although I love acting at the moment and I have been given some challenging roles.

 

You went to Sylvia Young Theatre School, so show business has always been in your blood. You don't strike me as your average Sylvia Young pupil. How did you end up there?
I think this is a question for my mum! She had me when she was very young and part of her needed some freedom at the weekends, and I liked to perform. I remember at a very early age ringing up record labels I found in the Yellow Pages, and asking them for a record deal. My mum used to chaperone my little cousin who also went to Sylvia Young to auditions to West End musicals, and I went with them once and the casting guy told them to put me forward and I got the job! After that, she put me into Sylvia Young too. It was good times although I wasn't too sure about the ballet and the leotards, I'm glad no pictures have been leaked! I started when I was about 7 but I think Emma Bunton and a few others from EastEnders were there at the same time.

 

You were successful quite young, how was that received by the guys in your neighbourhood?
There were many problems. It also happened when I was in So Solid Crew and I don't know if it's specific to the black community as that's where I experienced it. I wouldn't call it hating, I think it is more jealousy behind it. With So Solid, we had overnight success and I bought stupid stuff with my money, I bought a 35k car while I was still living in a council flat. I would be wearing my jewellery and parking up outside and people would look, they wouldn't like it. It was more about them wanting to be in the position that I was but not knowing how to deal with that, it comes across as aggression and violence. Same thing happened with Grange Hill when mobile phones just came out. My mum bought me a mobile and it was stolen from me, and I was bullied quite a lot for it. Nowadays everyone wants to be an actor but back then it was frowned upon, it wasn't that cool and I got a lot of stick for it, but it didn't make me want to give up.

 

There are lot of first time actors in the show, as an experienced actor did you help them out and feel responsible for them?
Yes. I had reservations at the beginning. "Do I really want to put myself in this situation?" If you cast the wrong people then you could have a really c**p product at the end of it, if no one has ever acted before. I don't feel I am experienced enough to tell others what to do. To have Yann (Demange, director) and Des (Hamilton, casting director) there really helped and I trusted them. Des is good at spotting talent off the street. All the new actors were pretty much their own characters and it was a refreshing experience. Working with Yann, I love him to death but it was hard work! He would come in sometimes and hand me and Kane a sheet saying he wrote a new scene last night and there was no time to even rehearse! We worked like that a lot and it was a really good experience.

 

Which roles you have played over the years have meant the most to you?
I would have to say definitely Rick in Bullet boy, Stefan in Storm Damage, Bee in Sugar House and probably this. I have high hopes.

 

You have acted alongside 50 Cent, what was that like?
He is a really good guy to work with. He probably wouldn't like me saying this but he is a very down-to-earth, nice guy and very generous, very rich! The one thing that  shocked me was how much he orchestrates and is in control of everything around him. He is very business savvy and understands the ins and outs of marketing. I watched and learned a lot. On the back of that, I actually came back and started my own production company because he made me want to work harder. He was getting five different calls on five different blackberries while getting his make-up done, and then he was producing an album at lunch, going to bed at 7pm to get up at 7am to fly to New York and then fly back to Canada to shoot a scene with me. I was just like, "wow, this guy is amazing!"

 

You are a family man now, what does that mean to you?
It means no more fun, to be honest![Laughs] My eldest son is 11 and sometimes it makes you feel old, and makes you realise you need to grow up a little. I do travel a lot so I have moments in my life when I feel free because my missus and kids aren't around me but it always feels so good to come home and do homework with the kids and just do normal stuff.

 

What ambitions do you have for the future?
I have a huge obsession for good TV dramas, I'm doing a lot of those and eventually I would like to do something worldwide, maybe a show in the States. I am happy doing the stuff I'm doing right now. Maybe another big film? I want to write and direct and I'm working on new scripts. At the moment, I'm happy acting and learning how to act a bit better.

 

I read in an interview that you were scared of butterflies - is this true?
[Laughs] Yes I'm scared of anything that flies, I have a healthy fear of wasps, butterflies etc. I've even been known to run away from ladybirds! It was quite funny on set, when a wasp flew near me I would have to stop and run off, especially during scenes when we were improvising and you only get one shot.

 Top Boy is on Channel 4 in October and November.

 By Benjie Goodhart