How Adolescence star Ashley Walters turned his life around after prison spell and addiction to make his directorial debut with jail drama Animol

Ashley Walters' new film Animol – which marks his directorial debut – tells the story of a series of troubled but hopefully young men doing time in a young offenders institute. The poignant coming-of-age story follows the inmates they navigate gang loyalties and relationships behind bars.And there is no one better to tell the complicated and often harrowing story than Peckham-born Ashley, 44.The Top Boy star spent 18 months in a young offenders institute in London after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm after he was arrested following a bust-up with a traffic warden.But fast forward two decades and Ashley has managed to completely turn his life around after moving on from his criminal past and overcoming an 'isolating' battle with alcoholism. He has gone on to star in Netflix's hugely popular series Top Boy as Dushane Hill and more recently in global hit Adolescence alongside Stephen Graham and Owen Cooper. 'I've got this whole story behind me which means I bring a bit of edge to the table,' the British star explained previously of the grit his acting seems to have. 'I'm not naïve: things contrived and I capitalised.' How Top Boy star Ashley Walters overcame prison spell and addiction to find Adolescence stardom - as he makes directorial debut with jail drama Animol The Top Boy star spent 18 months in a young offenders institute in London after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm after he was arrested following a bust-up with a traffic wardenAshley had a promising start in life as he attended part time drama classes at the world renowned Sylvia Young Theatre School in Marylebone when he was just seven.Teachers at the independent theatre school, whose alumni include the likes of Billie Piper, Rita Ora and Dua Lipa, were quick to spot Ashley's talent.By the time he was 13, Ashley, who was also attending his local comprehensive, landed his television debut in the role of Andy Philips on the long-running television BBC series Grange Hill.During his early teens, he went on to star in the BBC film Storm Damage and portray Stephen Lawrence's brother in the 1999 docudrama The Stephen Lawrence Story – all while gaining ten GCSES.By the time he was 18, his career took a turn and he became a rapper, starring in the Battersea-based hip-hop group So Solid Crew performing under the name 'Asher D'.Following the group's number one hit single – 21 Seconds – Ashley decided to step back from music to return to his first love of acting.But this was interrupted aged 19 when he was found in possession of a gun after he was arrested following a bust-up with a traffic warden.After pleading guilty to possession of a firearm, Ashley spent nine out of his 18-month sentence in a young offenders institute in the capital.At the time, Ashley already had two young children with former partner Natalie Williams – his first son Shayon, now 25, and his first daughter China, 23.Speaking previously on Adwoa Aboah's The Gurl Talk podcast, he revealed that after leaving prison, he felt the world had 'moved on without him' and he struggled to cope with his mental health, becoming 'abusive' to those he loved.He said: 'I felt like as a man, I didn't want to believe there was something wrong with me.'I came out (of prison) and the things that were happening and the way I was acting, I kind of attributed them to me being upset, me being slightly angry, but in hindsight I realise I was suffering with depression.'When I was released from prison, I didn't want to leave my house for the first three months. I stayed inside and at the time I just felt like I couldn't face people.'I didn't want to talk about what had happened and I just felt like I had a lot of catching up to do, because when you're in that scenario - your world stays the same and everybody else's world keeps on moving. You feel behind, you feel left out, you feel lonely. ' Ashley's new film Animol – which marks his directorial debut – follows a series of troubled but hopefully young men doing time in a young offenders institute The poignant coming-of-age story follows the inmates they navigate gang loyalties and relationships behind barsThe former So Solid Crew member went on to tell that he found himself 'segregating' himself from friends and family, and became 'flippant and angry'.He said: 'I realised that I was segregating myself from people, staying in my house led to me eventually losing friends and kind of it's slightly being abusive to people that I loved and cared about.'Being really flippant, angry so it was at that point I realised I needed to talk to someone.'The star told of how he drank to cope with his feelings, and how his wife Danielle Isaie was able to help him recover.When asked who it was that Ashley finally opened up to, he replied: 'I think it was my wife.'I had a really bad month, I think, for me and not many people know this I'm going to speak frankly now, but to get through it, to get around it I drank.'He went on to remember an evening where he drank so excessively, he completely blacked out, and was asked to leave the bus by the conductor after circulating the route while passed out, several times.'Alcohol became a vice and something I leaned on, so I drank for a while and I was drinking excessively. One day I went out with some friends,' he told.'Cut to the next morning at 7 o'clock I was on a bus and the conductor woke me up and was like mate I can't let you go around anymore.'I think I'd been robbed, my wallet my phone was gone and I didn't have my shoes and I didn't know how I got there or what had happened.'I walked home and when I got back my mum had called her and we sat and she held me and she said 'You need to get some help.''It's a distant memory,' he told the Evening Standard more recently. 'I didn't want to be there. Obviously. But it was a moment in time. It happened.'Ashley views prison as 'just another challenge' he had to go through after growing up in 'hardship', raised by a hard-working single mother alongside his adoring grandparents.Starting afresh – and taking a step back from those friends who were a bad influence to him – Ashley continued to pursue his acting career, getting cast regularly in television shows and films.'I made a conscious decision when I came out of prison that I was going to change my circle and I have been very vigilant about the people I have around me,' he told The Times.'You find that a lot of people start resenting you for your lack of contact because they don't understand how much pressure you're under and how hard you have to work.' It wasn't until 2011 when he was thrown back into the public limelight again, quickly emerging as one of Britain's most talented actors for his role in the Hackney drugs drama Top Boy More recently he starred in Netflix's Adolescence as policeman DI Luke Bascombe earning rave reviews Seen with his wife Danielle at the Animol Screening during the 70th BFI London Film Festival earlier this monthIt wasn't until 2011 when he was thrown back into the public limelight again, quickly emerging as one of Britain's most talented actors for his role in the Hackney drugs drama Top Boy.For the show's five series, Ashley played gun-toting gang leader Dushane roaming around a fictional east London estate.Top Boy went from success to success, reaping in awards at the British Academy Television Awards.As Ashley's fame continued to soar, he also met the love of his life, fellow actor Danielle Isaie in 2013.Following their wedding, Ashley – who also has two daughters Antonia and Ashleigh with another woman – and his wife welcomed two more children, Amaiya-Love and River as well as being a stepfather to Danielle's other son Junayde. He also shares three children with his ex partner Natalie Williams.Despite his career success, Ashley says he still had a dependence on alcohol – one which was only stopped five years ago after his then six-year-old daughter asked him to move out of their family home.Last June Ashley reflected on his 'isolating' struggles with alcohol, as he posed for a shirtless shoot with Men's Health UK.As well as being the magazine's July/August cover star, the actor, 42, spoke about his journey to getting sober in 2020, after a 15-year struggle with alcohol addiction.Ashley shared how he first began using alcohol as a way to improve his social skills.He said: 'I would be in a group of people and be looking at everyone and wondering how they could communicate so wonderfully, and I don't have the ability to do that. 'I was always looking at everyone else like, what manual for life did you get that I didn't? How come I didn't get the memo? 'It started off with me trying to become a person that could talk to girls like my friends could or bust a joke with the mandem like my friends could…'People may not like me saying it, but for a minute alcohol was the cure to the biggest problem that I felt I had. 'But the thing is, alcohol or drugs' main aim is to isolate you. Its main aim is to take everything away from you, so it has you by yourself and then at that point, it tries to kill you.'Reflecting on his lengthy battle with addiction, the star added: 'Alcoholism is a disease. I didn't realise until I got some professional help that it centres in the mind.'It's not the drug or drink of choice that's the issue. The easy part is to stop consuming alcohol, or whatever. 'The hard part is dealing with the problem in your head. 'But if you don't remedy that part, you're always going to end up going back to drinking because that problem still exists.'Ashley went on to share that since getting sober, he challenges himself in various social situations, without using alcohol as a vice.He added: 'I turn up now and force myself into situations that I probably would have shied away from before just to test how good I am at striking up conversations or being around people…'I've met some amazing people that I know for a fact I wouldn't have [met when drinking]. I would have been s***ting myself. 'I sat down with Michael B Jordan a couple of weeks ago and we had an amazing conversation for an hour…'To be able to sit down, laugh and joke naturally with someone I look up to, even though I'm a bit older, feels good. It's a marker of how far I've come.' By the time he was 18, his career took a turn and he became a rapper, starring in the Battersea-based hip hop group So Solid Crew performing under the name 'Asher D' Ashley is pictured with five of his eight children along with his granddaughter Ashley most recently earned critical praise for his performance as detective DI Luke Bascombe in Adolescence.The four-part series received critical acclaim when it hit the streaming service in March, and centres on a 13-year-old boy accused of murdering a schoolgirl.In the show, viewers saw how teen Jamie Miller's perception of girls had been radicalised through content he was viewing online, and also showed the vast amount of social media consumed by teenagers at school.In the aftermath of his Adolescence success, Ashley has turned his attention to directing – with his new prison drama Animol. He says that a lot of it is based on his own experience and memories from his own time behind bars. He told The Guardian this week: 'I wanted it to feel, look and sound the way it felt, looked and sounded to me.' When he first arrived in prison he says that 'all hell broke loose' as the other inmates knew who he was – with many shouting insults at him and even threatening to kill him. 'It wasn't a pleasant experience at all,' 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.'Animol follows 15-year-old protagonist Troy (played by Tut Nyuot) as he navigates life inside. And the reviews have been good so far, with one critic penning: 'Animol is a great exploration of masculinity and how it presents itself in an environment that not only breeds violence but actively encourages it.'It has been a life of great ups and downs for Ashley so far but he has managed to successfully turn things around for himself – with the future seeming bright.