Adolescence star Ashley Walters has explained why he initially “regretted” 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 – 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 “friend and mentor” Graham, who also stars in the series playing Luke’s distraught father. Walters, known by many for his role in Top Boy, admitted that he “would have said yes... regardless of what the job was going to be” as “you never say no to Stephen Graham”.
The actor said that when he turned up to set for the first time, and saw the size of the operation, he “f***ing regretted it” – and admitted to feeling out of his depth.
“Every day, Phil [Barantini, director] will tell you, I was in tears! Every day I was going home, crying in my script. Rocking, you know.”
Walters called filming Adolescence “the hardest thing in the world”, adding: “No, no it was. I was so insecure and it’s a lot. I had to learn the whole script.
“And I had a lot to say in that first episode. And you’re leading a lot of it, as well. A lot of it is police jargon and whatever.”
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: “I 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 who’d stabbed a young girl, and if I’m really honest with you, they hurt my heart.”
He explained that the show’s storyline explores a complexity of topics, adding that parents need to be “mindful” of the external influences working on their children.
Adolescence is available to stream on Netflix now.
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