Ashley Walters

A lot of people out there are not content with their life, but I am.

Acting is something I feel good about doing, I'm lucky enough to love my job as well.

I couldn't take that whole retail thing of being polite to people that are not being polite to you, and showing respect to people when they've got no respect for you. Retail in general is something I just can't do, unless it's my own shop.

I'm a father eight and I'm married as well - in real life.

I have been saying to my agent and my wife for many, many months that I am going to be James Bond one day. I hope I'm not too 'street' for it.

It's important for people to listen and take time to watch what's going on in these shows, especially the ones like 'Top Boy' that are painting an accurate picture.

Rather than enjoying my success I was stressing about it. Wanting it, but at the same time I couldn't handle the consequences. I was intimidated by people.

I had a good three or four months of mad depression where I thought, I'm not doing this any more, it's brought me nothing but problems, I can't take it. My own label didn't want to touch me. A lot of people just shut doors.

Selling out is a myth. Bill Gates isn't selling out, is he? Richard Branson isn't selling out. Why can't black people make money?

I was driving along and I got a random call on my way to my mother in law's for dinner and it was Drake. He wanted to help and he said he'd do anything to get 'Top Boy' back on screens and then got a call from Netflix, who wanted to do the show. For U.K. culture, it's a huge thing.

But I'm quite liberal as a dad.

I go away to places in Europe or America and I feel uncomfortable; I can't wait to get home.

You're not gonna see me in 'Downton Abbey,' but culture is changing.

I didn't actually rob anyone but once I was kidnapped by two older boys for half a day and they were trying to get me to steal or mug someone.

My mum was well-travelled, well-educated and made me understand from books, from my imagination and from just taking me away on holiday once a year, wherever she could, that the world was bigger than Peckham.

When I was young, I would go to youth clubs after school, run by my teachers and there were places to go where you could talk things out or enjoy sport with kids from different areas so territorial barriers were broken down.

I had an inkling that I was going to prison before I actually did, because I'd witnessed my father and my elders going through it. It seemed like that's the way that you got respect, which is a sad thing.

My stepfather's nickname for me was Squarehead.

I used to eat under my grandmother's dining room table. I wouldn't eat at the table ever until I was about 10.

There was a danger when I was in So Solid and we made '21 Seconds.' But we're just showing a slice of life.