THE TOP BOY
Red talks to actor and musician Ashley Walters
From his early rap career in the notorious noughties group So Solid Crew to his gritty screen role as gang leader Dushane in the hit Netflix series Top Boy, Ashley Walters is somewhat of an expert at playing the bad boy. So I’m surprised to learn that the real Walters is actually very shy. ‘I’m little Ashley who loves his mum, went to Sylvia Young [theatre school] and did ballet and tap dancing,’ he tells me, his tone gravelly yet gentle. ‘It’s a common misconception – I think most actors and musicians are painfully shy. It’s a perfect job for us because the minute we pretend to be someone else, the focus is not on who we are any more. It’s an ideal place for someone like me to hide.’
Speaking over Zoom from his home in west London, Walters strikes me as understated, sincere and calm. He wears a simple black T-shirt, sits against a plain white wall, and often shoots me a self-conscious smile as he finishes his sentences. The only visible evidence of fame or pride is the edge of an old clapperboard sitting on a shelf behind him. Now aged 38, his measured manner hints at his psychological journey. It is clear that he is someone who has done a lot of thinking, and a lot of learning.
His story started in Peckham, south London. An only child, Walters’s dad was ‘rarely around’, while his ‘superhero’ mum, a local government worker, ‘busted her ass to make money’ for them. ‘She’s very smart, very astute,’ he explains. ‘I can’t vent to her because she will just ask me, “Well, what do you think you should do now?” She’s always challenged me. But I thank her for it daily now because by pushing me to read as much as possible and taking me on holiday every year, she developed my imagination and made me understand culture. She taught me that the estate I lived on wasn’t the only thing in the world; that there was more to strive for.’
Attending theatre school every weekend from the age of six, Walters began his screen career early, appearing aged 10 as young slave Omar in the US TV series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, and shortly after as school tearaway Andy in BBC One’s Grange Hill. ‘I always felt different from the kids I grew up around, but the entertainment industry gave me a place to be myself,’ he says. ‘I spent a lot of time on my own reading Smash Hits magazine. I remember picking up the Yellow Pages at home, looking for record labels and just cold calling people. My mum was like, “What are you doing?” and I said, “I want to be a musician.”’
He soon saw the fruits of his labour when, aged 17, he joined the British garage act So Solid Crew, performing under the moniker Asher D. The group became household names overnight when its 2001 song 21 Seconds stormed to the top of the charts; it was the first of five consecutive top 20 hit singles. ‘It was so random, man,’ Walters says now of his sudden fame. ‘It was amazing and obviously fruitful for all of us. But if I’m honest, I didn’t even like 21 Seconds when it was first played to me. I thought it was too commercial for such an underground group. And maybe it was, but I was proved wrong by the success it had because you couldn’t go anywhere without hearing that bloody song played.’ He gives a deep-throated chuckle. ‘But the camaraderie we had was dope. People assume the highest moments were the awards and album sales and stuff, but the records we broke didn’t mean anything to me. I was just happy to be able to wake up in the morning and have like 30 people that I could call my brothers and sisters. That was one of the first times I felt like I belonged.’
It wasn’t long, however, before the group itself was at the centre of controversy, with many of the lyrics criticised by politicians for promoting violence and blamed for crime occurring across the UK. But Walters’s lowest moment, he explains, came at the age of 19, when he was sentenced to 18 months in prison for carrying a loaded firearm. ‘It was a shock,’ he tells me quietly. ‘On my first night in prison, I remember thinking, “I should not be here.” It took me a long time to accept that it was bad choices I’d made that had got me there.’
It’s hard to imagine the humble, polite man sitting in front of me now caught up in such a scandal, but it’s also easy to see that prison had a profound impact on his mindset. ‘Your ego can make you feel like you’re in control of everything around you, but when that door shuts to your cell, you realise you’re powerless over certain things,’ he says. ‘A lot broke down for me – not seeing my kids and losing my home. I developed slight depression when I came out. I was a recluse. I didn’t want to be around people. But I’ve had to learn to let go of regret because in hindsight, it was something that had to happen for me to become who I am today.’
‘ACTING IS AN IDEAL PLACE FOR SOMEONE LIKE ME TO HIDE’
Following his release, Walters ‘changed [his] circle immediately’. ‘I stopped being around certain people that I knew weren’t good for me and just tried to refocus my life. I think that’s one of the reasons I concentrated on acting when I came out, because it seemed a lot calmer as a lifestyle than the music industry. The whole experience turned me against music for a good couple of years. I just thought, “Music is terrible for your soul, if it does this to you.” But that was the Ashley who was trying to blame everything else for what was happening to him.’
Walters went on to land big-screen roles in 2004’s Bullet Boy and 2005’s Get Rich Or Die Tryin’, before his famed role as Dushane in London gang drama Top Boy came along. Set within east London housing estates, the series tells the story of the tension between rival drug gangs as they strive to live honest lives against the odds. Despite his circumstances, 20-something drug dealer Dushane has a strong sense of morality and deep family loyalty, which brings a unique realism and tenderness to an otherwise gritty show.
‘People shout Dushane at me in the street now,’ Walters laughs. ‘I don’t always acknowledge it, but I don’t mind stopping for a picture. Those are the people who’ve supported your work, so you can never forget that. My heart has been broken by meeting idols before, so I would hate to do that to someone.’
After two series, the show was unexpectedly dropped by Channel 4, but rapper (and Top Boy superfan) Drake joined forces with Netflix to revive it, and the new season was released in September 2019 with another in the pipeline. Is he pals with Drake then? ‘I wouldn’t say mates mates,’ he says. ‘I mean, he’s famous famous. But we’ve met on several occasions. He’s a really respectful, quiet, humble guy, and he did an amazing thing helping us to get the show to where it is now.’
Keen to take on new challenges, at the end of last year Walters branched out even further and made his directorial debut with the short film Boys for Sky Arts, which is about teenager Noah, who sets out to acquire a list of items that his big brother needs in jail. ‘It was difficult at first,’ he says of the experience. ‘I’ve always shied away from putting myself in that position. But surprisingly, after we wrapped, I was like, “I want to do this again straightaway.” Being able to put my vision on screen was amazing.’
Meanwhile, his acting work continues. His latest project, Sky One’s Bulletproof: South Africa, a three-part follow-up to 2018’s Bulletproof, sees him and pal Noel Clarke return as cop duo Pike and Bishop. For many years, the pair fought to get the detective series commissioned, and were told by executives that in order for it to work, one of them needed to be white. How important does the show feel to him now? ‘So important,’ he enthuses. ‘I’m always trying to push the industry forward, and I think shows like this just prove how much the world is changing. I definitely felt there was a glass roof for me at some points, where I just couldn’t get any further. But this show has opened the door for young black actors.’
As co-owner of London-based drama school Kingdom, inspiring the next generation is something close to Walters’s heart. But he never set out to be a ‘mentor’ as such, he explains. ‘I’d be the worst teacher ever, man, because
I just want to hang out,’ he says. When I talk to students, it’s more about telling them to embrace their journey. The highs and the lows are the things that are going to make your work stand out from everyone else’s.’
His own children, all eight of them – aged four to 21 – have mixed opinions about his success. ‘First of all, none of them think I’m famous,’ he laughs. ‘I think especially my older ones have a dislike for it because it’s affected their lives a lot. They grew up while I was still growing up, and it’s taken me a long time to realise that trying not to be like my own dad is the worst thing I could have done. But I have learned with my younger kids to be a bit more present.’
‘I STOPPED BEING AROUND PEOPLE THAT WEREN’T GOOD FOR ME’
In December last year, Walters added another string to his bow: he became a grandfather to his eldest son’s daughter, Neveah. Will he call himself ‘grandad’? ‘Nah, I’m not having that,’ he smiles. ‘I’d like to be Pops. I don’t feel old! I’ve always been told that when you have grandkids, it feels more intense than having your own children. And it does because it feels like a legacy is beginning. I’m part of another generation now, which is amazing. Hopefully I’ll be able to see my great-grandchildren one day, so there are pros to being a young grandad. Also, I look very good…’ he winks.
When it comes to juggling career and family, he admits he’s a bit of a workaholic. ‘I have my own studio, so I record music in my spare time,’ he says. ‘I don’t have loads of hobbies – Netflix and chill, bowling with my family and finding good seafood restaurants with Dan [his wife, actor Danielle Isaie]. I don’t really have friends – I’m quite closed in that sense. I think it’s a throwback from having mates that seemed to always get me into trouble. I’m trying to open that out a bit because I do feel like it’s important to have people you can share with other than your life partner.’
He met Danielle around 20 years ago on the MTV show Top Buzzer, but they didn’t become a couple until she got in touch 12 years later requesting an audition for a show he was casting. ‘I’d actually already cast it, but I was like, “Sure, come over for lunch,”’ he grins. The best audition she’s ever had? ‘I’m not sure about that!’ shouts a female voice in the background, as Walters playfully rolls his eyes at his wife’s remark.
Their relationship is a case of ‘opposites attract’, he admits. ‘Danielle is a full-on loving person, she goes hard for it, whereas I can be quite introverted with it. I have to meet her a lot of the time with the levels of passion and showing love, because she’s very tactile when it comes to those things. Like anything else, it takes maintenance, and we’re very different, but somehow it creates this amazing balance that works for us.’
So, what’s next for him? Walters smiles, leaning back in his seat thoughtfully. ‘I’m in a place where I don’t want to live in the future, or the past. I want to live for today,’ he says. ‘I’m hoping Boys will open some doors for me when it comes to directing, but anything can happen in this game and I don’t want to box myself in. I’m happy and content with my life now and I’m learning that I have to be enough for myself. So I’m chilling, I’m going with the flow, and we’ll see what tomorrow brings.’