Before Ashley Walters became an actor, he briefly spent time in prison while part of a South London hip-hop group
Prison was the ‘best thing’ that happened to one of South London’s best-known actors and DJs. A star of Netflix’s award-winning Adolescence and Top Boy, as well as stints on Doctor Who and Grange Hill, Ashley Walters says that had he not gone to a young offenders’ institute in 2002, he might not have ended up where he is today.
Before the 44-year-old, known for starring as DI Luke Bascombe in Adolescence, began acting, he was a member of the chart-topping UK garage and hip-hop group So Solid Crew. But during his time in the South London group, Walters was sentenced to 18 months in a young offenders’ institute in 2002.
In an interview with The Guardian, the actor said it was not “a pleasant experience at all” and because of his celebrity name, he was recognised immediately and “all hell broke loose”, with inmates shouting insults and threatening to kill him in the morning.
He said: “I was tried, I was tested, it was pressure, there was loads of fear, but I had no choice. It’s an experience I had to go through, and actually it was one of the best things that happened to me.”
The father-of-eight said the sentence helped him to reflect on his life and hit reset. He said: “It pushed me to the thoughts I needed to have: who do I want to be? What do I want from life?
“And then, looking around me and seeing my circle of friends and entrusted loved ones, do they reflect that? And the answer was a big resounding no. When I came out of prison, I didn’t know what I was going to do with my life and a lot of doors were shut.”
British filmmaker Saul Dibb then wrote a role for him in Bullet Boy, which followed an ex-con as he tried to turn his life around after returning to his troubled neighbourhood. The film kick-started Walters’ acting career, which led to roles in hit shows including Top Boy and Bulletproof.
Walters also discussed his sobriety and his 15-year battle with substance abuse, revealing an argument with his wife, Danielle Isaie, in 2020 pushed him to get help.
He said: “The next morning, my wife dropped me at rehab and I was there for four weeks, came out and I’ve never drunk or drugged since, and it’s coming up to six years in November. So, very thankful for that. Sad it took me so long to get there – and there’s a lot of amends to make with family and kids and friends – but one of the best things I’ve ever done.
“In the last six years, it’s no coincidence that my life’s changed, like, amazingly. The truth is, nothing started working for me until I was clean and sober.”
Walters is also known for starring in Harlan Coben’s 2025 miniseries Missing You. He will make his directorial debut with Animol, which follows young inmates in a juvenile detention centre as they navigate their lives and paths to redemption, and stars his Adolescence co-star Graham.
