Adolescence star explains why he initially âregrettedâ role
â??It was the hardest thing in the world,â?? actor said
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Adolescence star Ashley Walters has explained why he initially âregrettedâ accepting a role on the acclaimed Netflix drama.
The four-part series, co-created by and starring Stephen Graham, has received huge praise since its addition to the streaming service earlier this month, with many blown away by the technical aspect: each carefully constructed episode consists of just one shot.
Walters stars in the series as DI Luke Bascombe, who finds himself caught up in the case of 13-year-old boy Jamie Miller (newcomer Owen Cooper) accused of murder.
He takes centre stage in the first episode of the series â a big task at the best of times, but even bigger when the entire instalment is one long continuous shot lasting for 70 minutes.
Walters was offered the role by his âfriend and mentorâ Graham, who also stars in the series playing Lukeâs distraught father. Walters, known by many for his role in Top Boy, admitted that he âwould have said yes... regardless of what the job was going to beâ as âyou never say no to Stephen Grahamâ.
The actor said that when he turned up to set for the first time, and saw the size of the operation, he âf***ing regretted itâ â and admitted to feeling out of his depth.
âEvery day, Phil [Barantini, director] will tell you, I was in tears! Every day I was going home, crying in my script. Rocking, you know.â
Walters called filming Adolescence âthe hardest thing in the worldâ, adding: âNo, no it was. I was so insecure and itâs a lot. I had to learn the whole script.
âAnd I had a lot to say in that first episode. And youâre leading a lot of it, as well. A lot of it is police jargon and whatever.â
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âAdolescenceâ star Ashley Walters (Netflix )
Graham co-created the series alongside Jack Thorne after reading news reports of stabbings of young girls.
In an interview with The Independent, he said: âI read an article about a young boy stabbing a young girl. And then maybe a couple of months later, on the news there was [another] young boy whoâd stabbed a young girl, and if Iâm really honest with you, they hurt my heart.â
He explained that the showâs storyline explores a complexity of topics, adding that parents need to be âmindfulâ of the external influences working on their children.
Adolescence is available to stream on Netflix now.