The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett

Ashley Walters (Top Boy): "Me & Kano Didn't Have The Greatest Time!". The Unheard TRUTH About Top Boy, Career Rejection & Personal Grief!

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In this new episode Steven sits down with rapper and actor, Ashley Walters.

From Asher D to Top Boy, prison to fame, Ashley Walters refuses to be told what he can or can’t do.

Ashley first gained popular attention in 2001 as Asher D, a member of British Rap Group, ‘So Solid Crew’. Acting in TV shows since he was 10 years old, in 2004 Ashley broke into film with, ‘Bullet Boy’, for which he was named Best Newcomer at the British Independent Film Awards. This led to roles in major Hollywood blockbusters such as ‘Get Rich Or Die Tryin’. In 2011, Ashley starred as Dushane in the massively popular TV show, ‘Top Boy’. 

In this conversation Ashley and Steven discuss topics, such as:

  • Attending therapy 
  • His relationship with his father 
  • His anger with the world as a teenager
  • His father’s time in prison 
  • Looking for father figures and role models
  • Joining So Solid Crew for belonging 
  • Being a people pleaser and not feeling good enough
  • His last encounter with his father 
  • The lessons he learned from his dying father 
  • Not grieving for his father 
  • Being a perfectionist 
  • Obsessing over the fact that he was going to die young
  • His experience of prison 
  • Being constantly motivated
  • Having a strict upbringing 
  • They key to his talent 
  • Wanting to escape being himself 
  • Being naturally shy 
  • Using acting as a way to escape trauma 
  • The tough life of acting 
  • Turning adversity into motivation
  • Moving into being a director
  • Always needing the next challenge in his life
  • His depression during the Coronavirus pandemic 
  • The importance of forgiveness 
  • His relationship with his wife 
  • Struggling with opening up with his emotions
  • Fatherhood
  • Not having the greatest relationship with some of his children
  • Top Boy
  • How the script for Top Boy got Ashley hooked
  • Why Channel 4 didn’t make a third season of Top Boy
  • Why Top Boy became the success it did 
  • How he will push himself for an acting role 
  • Filming the last season of Top Boy
  • His future
  • Top Boy opening the door for black British culture worldwide


    • Follow Ashley:

    Instagram: https://bit.ly/3RfAyI9

    Twitter: https://bit.ly/48f3PZt


    Follow me:

    https://beacons.ai/diaryofaceo

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