Ashley Walters wanted to quit acting
Ashley Walters has admitted he wanted to quit acting before taking on a role in new Netflix drama ' Adolescence' - admitting the harrowing script left him in tears but he emerged with a "newfound love for the craft".
Ashley Walters wanted to quit acting before landing a role in 'Adolescence'.
The 42-year-old star - who rose to fame in music group So Solid Crew - has confessed he was considering walking away from his screen career to focus on work behind the camera but he signed up to star in the new Netflix drama and the harrowing script left him in tears but he emerged with a "newfound love for the craft".
He told Radio Times: "It was intense. It was intense. I came into this job personally thinking that I was going to quit acting.
"So before I was like: ‘I’ve had enough.’ And obviously I've started directing and I was like: 'I want to pursue that a bit more, slow down the acting a bit, and eventually phase it out'."
The 'Top Boy' star went on to explain 'Adolescence' writer and star Stephen Graham offered him a part in the show - about a teenage boy who is arrested for murdering a schoolmate - and the job reaffirmed his love of acting.
He added: "Stephen called me and was like: ‘No, you got to come and do this job.’
"So I came, didn't realise how intense it was going to be, but it was so intense. The challenge was great.
"I was crying into my script most nights in the apartment, so scared I'm not going to remember the material. But actually, coming out of it, I grew. There was a newfound love for the craft and what I do."
He concluded: "So it was intense, but really challenging and beautiful at the end of it for me."
