When Ashley Walters stepped out of Feltham Young Offenders Institute in 2002 he vowed never to see the inside of a jail cell ever again. But, with the success of his Top 20-selling garage crew ‘So Solid’ long gone and the group disbanded, how was the man formerly known as ‘Asher D’ going to make good that promise?
Fast forward five years and Ashley Walters has kept his promise and then some! On emerging from his stint at Her Majesty’s Pleasure he was put under the media microscope. At first, it seemed as if he was being set up as a poor example of what was wrong with the youth of today, but the boy from South East London was surprisingly articulate, intelligent and charming, and before long emerged as the voice of reason for youngsters who suffered from a ‘council estate’ of mind’.
Before you could blink, he made the metamorphosis from boy with the baritone flow to lead actor in ‘Bullet Boy’, a gritty tale of youth gun culture. The film – which bore an eerie resemblance to his own life - was an instant hit. He received a BIFA award for best newcomer and Ashley Walters, actor, arrived!
They say success breeds success, and for Ashley Walters it is certainly true! His acting talent, honed in his adolescence at the prestigious Sylvia Young theatre school, ensured that his achievement in ‘Bullet Boy’ was followed by another hit British movie, ‘Life & Lyrics’, as well as a supporting role alongside none other than hip-hop bad boy 50 Cent in Hollywood movie ‘Get Rich or Die Trying’! To top it all off he bagged a lead role in the cult British TV drama ‘Hustle’. In between came the release of his debut solo album ‘Street Sibling’, which is followed this year by his second album ‘In Memory of a Street Fighter’.
The media machine is cranking up yet again for the release of his latest movie ‘Sugarhouse’ in which Ashley plays the part of ‘D’, a crack addict who befriends a business(continue...)