Ashley Walters is an English actor, rapper and producer from Peckham, south London, best known for playing Dushane Hill in the crime drama Top Boy. He first found fame as Asher D in So Solid Crew, whose single 21 Seconds went to number one in 2001, and later co-created and starred in the Sky series Bulletproof.
Brian Rose has interviewed Walters twice on London Real, in 2014 and 2019. He was the first actor ever on the show. They talked about the highs of So Solid Crew, the prison sentence for gun possession that followed, his move into film with Bullet Boy and Get Rich or Die Tryin’, and Top Boy’s return on Netflix.
Both interviews are listed below in order, with a short summary of each.
Top Boy (June 2014). His first interview and the most personal: So Solid Crew, prison, and rebuilding his life as an actor. For Top Boy’s revival on Netflix, watch Top Boy: Changing the face of British TV & Film (2019).
Short clip: Success Secrets (2019).
Speaking in 2014, Walters described the pressure of sudden fame with So Solid Crew at 19. He said that by the time he was caught with a gun he was out of control and his paranoia had gone through the roof.
Walters calls himself an introvert, and in 2014 he spoke about rebuilding his life after prison. Brian Rose presents his story as one of hope that resonates whatever your background.
Top Boy, set in Hackney, is often compared to The Wire. In 2019 Walters talked about playing and co-producing the show, its revival on Netflix, and what it means for representation in British TV and film.
Walters never left music behind. In 2019, as well as Top Boy’s return, he had just released a new single and talked about moving between music, acting and production.
Ashley Walters is an English actor, rapper and producer, born in Peckham in 1982. He is best known for playing Dushane Hill in Top Boy and, as Asher D, for his time in So Solid Crew.
In two interviews with Brian Rose, in 2014 and 2019, he talked about So Solid Crew and 21 Seconds, the prison sentence that followed, his early film roles, Top Boy and its revival on Netflix, and his music.
Start with Top Boy from 2014 for his life story. Watch the 2019 interview for Top Boy’s return on Netflix and his work as a producer.
Twice, in 2014 and 2019. A short Success Secrets clip is taken from the 2019 interview.
He plays Dushane Hill, one of the lead characters in the Hackney crime drama. He has also worked on the show as a producer, including after Netflix brought it back in 2019.
Yes. As Asher D he was a member of the UK garage group So Solid Crew, whose single 21 Seconds reached number one in the UK charts in 2001.
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