Video: Ashley Walters
In the early noughties, Ashley Walters was best known as Asher D, a member of UK garage collective So Solid Crew. These days, he’s the star of acclaimed TV dramas Top Boy and Inside Men, as well as feature films, such as Bullet Boy and Get Rich or Die Tryin’. He talks to Oscar Rickett about his career path…
The descriptor “rapper turned actor” isn’t one that inspires confidence, but Ashley Walters, once Asher D of So Solid Crew, has always been one to defy expectations.
Watching him in Bullet Boy, Inside Men or Top Boy, the last thing that comes to mind is 21 seconds of rapping as part of a UK garage supergroup.
In our video, he talks about…
- How he built his acting career after going to prison in 2001.
- Why he’s working on improving his audition technique.
- Why performing on stage is “the best feeling ever” – and how So Solid Crew prepared him for treading the boards.
- Why he doesn’t worry about acting in crime dramas, such as Top Boy – as long as they don’t glamorise violence.
Top Boy images courtesy of Dean Rogers.
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