Top Boy character profiles and cast biographies

13 October 2011

CHARACTER PROFILES

RA'NELL (13) RaNell is intelligent, thoughtful and brave but has seen too much for his tender years. We learn that he stabbed his father, Wayne in the leg to protect his mother, Lisa. As a result Wayne left home. His best friend is Gem, and they hang out with Gem's dog, Marnie. Ra'Nell is upset by his mother's depression, but when she goes into hospital he feels he is man enough to look after himself. Ra'Nell is growing up fast, but part of him is still a little kid.

LISA (34) Lisa is fragile after her abusive relationship with Ra'Nell's father, Wayne, which has taken a huge toll on her emotionally. When we first meet her she has a breakdown and is admitted to hospital. There she meets Leon, a personal trainer who hopes he can give her the inspiration to move on with her life, put Wayne behind her and be there for her son.

GEM (13) Gem is Ra'Nell's best friend. He lives with his dad who runs a chip shop and is always at work. He has a secret den under an arch and his dog Marnie goes everywhere with him. As a vulnerable kid who wants to belong and seeks respect and approval, he is eager to join Dushane's gang.

LEON (37) Leon works at the psychiatric hospital as a personal trainer and is a firm believer that exercise can turn your life around. A former bad boy, Leon was a friend of Wayne's, but has been straight for years now. He cares about Lisa and wants to help her and Ra'Nell, and is determined to keep him from harm in her enforced absence.

 HEATHER ( 34 ) An old friend of Lisa's, Heather is pregnant, single and determined to get out of Summerhouse to give her baby a better start in life than she had. She is willing to risk everything to grow a single crop of marijuana and sell it wholesale to Vincent, her Vietnamese patron, to get a deposit for a home in a better area. When she nearly loses the baby she asks Ra'Nell to help her run her ‘punk farm'. She feels guilty about taking advantage of him but is prepared to go to any lengths to change her life.

PRECIOUS (13) Precious is a sweet, generous schoolmate of Ra'Nell's and a good student who really likes him. Eventually he confides in her about his parents, they share their first shy kiss and decide to go out together.

CHRIS (32) Dushane's older brother, Chris has worked hard not to get involved in drugs and disapproves of his brother's lifestyle.

PAT (58) Dushane and Chris's mother, she has a soft spot for her younger son, who lives with her and turns a blind eye to what he does, although she is always trying to get him to go to church with her.

DUSHANE (26) Dushane has grown up on the Summerhouse estate and feels he has run out of options apart from dealing drugs. He still lives with his mother, Pat, a devout churchgoer, but is determined to become ‘Top Boy'. He and Sully run the local gang and Dushane dreams of making enough money to get out of the game. He is smart and ambitious and thinks things through, unlike Sully who reacts violently and impulsively. As events unfold, Dushane's friendship is Sully is tested to the limit. He realises that Ra'Nell is smart and is keen to recruit him into the gang.

SULLY (26) Sully went to school with Dushane. They are friends as well as partners in crime. Sully is hot-headed and tends to react rather than think things through. He can be charming and funny but becomes increasingly violent and reckless .. with fatal consequences.

DRIS (19) Dris is Dushane and Sully's right hand man. Smart and ambitious, his loyalty is dictated by the leader who will do the most for him.

LEE GREENE (35) Lee is Raikes's second in command, and runs Summerhouse until Dushane and Sully take it over. He is motivated by money and status and has become complacent. He is angry that Dushane and Sully get promoted and resents Raikes for it. Revenge is in the air.

 BOBBY RAIKES (41) Raikes is at the top of the local chain, supplying Dushane and Sully's drugs. He allows Dushane to step up because he is impressed by his will to succeed and his intelligence and thinks Dushane will make him a lot of money. Raikes himself has been in the game a long time. He is motivated by money and old-fashioned values, like respect.

KAMALE (26) Kamale is leader of a rival gang, the London Fields Mandem. He is ambitious, violent and wants to oust Dushane and Sully and control Summerhouse.

CHANTELLE (16) Chantelle is the only girl in Dushane and Sully's gang. She is funny and fearless and enjoys hanging with the gang and making money. She develops a very strong bond with Gem.

JOE (50s) Joe is the menacing, shadowy outsider who supplies Raikes and ultimately calls the shots.

 

 

 

CAST BIOGRAPHIES

 

Ashley Walters (Dushane)
Ashley was a graduate of The Sylvia Young Theatre School, and already a teen actor in Grange Hill when he shot to fame as Asher D in So Solid Crew. His lead role in Bullet Boy won him Best Newcomer at the British Independent Film Awards. He also appeared in Get Rich or Die Tryin' alongside rapper 50 Cent and House of 9 alongside Dennis Hopper. TV credits include the long-running BBC series Hustle, 2009's TV adaptation of Small Island and numerous appearances in The Bill and London's Burning.  Theatre includes Roy William's Sing Yer Heart Out for the Lads at the National Theatre, Levi David Addai's Oxford Street and Bola Agbaje's new play Off the Endz, both at the Royal Court Theatre.

 

Kane Robinson (Sully)
A promising youth footballer, Kane Robinson, 26, also made a name for himself as a rapper on the UK grime scene as Kano or Kane-O from East London's N.A.S.T.Y. crew. In 2005, Kano was nominated for 4 MOBO Awards, winning the award for Best Newcomer, and nominated for a BRIT Award for Best Urban Act in January 2006. He was named as one of "London's Heroes of 2005" by then Mayor of London Ken Livingstone. Since then, Kane has begun to make a transition into acting. He appeared in Rollin' with the Nines in 2006, a British film about a rap group who turned drug dealers, and in 2007 was in the short Point Blank. Top Boy is Kane's first major role in a drama. He is currently filming Tower Block, a thriller written by James Moran (Severance).

 

Nicholas Pinnock (Leon)
Nicholas began his career with parts in EastEnders and Grange Hill and has since made appearances in Footballer's Wives and Doctors. In 2009 he appeared in the film Listicky which was shown at the Venice Film Festival. Most recently, he starred in American blockbuster Captain America: The First Avenger and he has just finished writing a screenplay Seven Days which has been picked up for production by Mark Findlay, the executive producer of Four Lions.

 

Sharon Duncan-Brewster (Lisa)
Sharon has a wide range of TV credits, including an eight-month stint in EastEnders and the first four series of the ITV prison drama Bad Girls. She has also appeared in Dr. Who, Casualty and Waking the Dead.  Her most recent film appearance was in the British independent horror Blooded, which was released in March.

 

Kierston Wareing (Heather)
Essex-born Kierston first came to prominence as the star of Ken Loach's It's a Free World, a role which brought her a BAFTA nomination, and went on to a major role in Fish Tank which won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Her growing television portfolio includes roles in The Bill, Luther and, most recently, The Shadow Line.

 

Geoff Bell (Bobby Raikes)
Geoff Bell's previous TV appearances include The Long Firm and Five Daughters. His numerous film credits range from Girl with a Pearl Earring and Scoop to RocknRolla, Brighton Rock and the forthcoming War Horse.