Ashley Walters (actor)

This article is about the British rapper and actor. For the rapper who partnered Daddy Freddy, see Asher D (rapper).

Ashley Walters
Walters filming Truckers in 2013
Background information
Also known as	Asher D
Born	(1982-06-30) 30 June 1982 Peckham, London, England
Genres	UK garage grime hip hop
Occupations	Rapper actor
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Crescent Moon Media AD82
Website	www.ashleywalters.co.uk

Ashley Walters (born 30 June 1982), also known by his stage name Asher D, is a British rapper, songwriter and actor best known for his star role as Ricky in Bullet Boy (2004) and his lead role as Dushane in Top Boy and his role as Antoine in Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005).

Early life

Walters was born in Peckham, south-east London, to Guyanese parents. He was raised by his mother, Pamela Case, a local government officer. He attended St. Georges CE Primary School, Camberwell, from the age of four. He then went on to Pimlico School, now known as Pimlico Academy.

Having undertaken classes at the Sylvia Young Theatre School, after leaving school Walters starred in some stage productions.

Music career

Walters joined the group So Solid Crew, where under the moniker Asher D he both performed and acted as lyricist, particularly for their number-one hit "21 Seconds".

After the group split, in 2006 he recorded In Memory of the Street Fighter, featuring the single "Andrea". He released a studio album in 2008 entitled The Appetiser, a 12-track album produced with Laurence Ezra. In early 2012, Walters signed a recording contract with the independent record label SK Records. His single "How You Like Me Now" was released on 29 July 2012, followed up by "Your Love" released on 12 November 2012, featuring vocals from Alesha Dixon.

Acting career

Walters is also an actor, appearing under his full name, Ashley Walters. He appeared on television as Omar in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles at the age of 10, and as Andy in Grange Hill at the age of 14. He appeared in Saul Dibb's 2004 feature film Bullet Boy, where he played Ricky, who had just been released from prison and back into living a normal life, a role for which Walters was named Best Newcomer at the British Independent Film Awards. He also appeared in 2005's Get Rich or Die Tryin'.

In 2006, he played the role of Wolf in the film Stormbreaker, and Danny in Life and Lyrics, for which he has received many plaudits. In 2007, he starred in WΔZ, alongside Selma Blair and Melissa George, and in Sugarhouse. He played Lacey in the BBC Three drama pilot West 10 LDN. He played the character Billy Bond in five episodes of the fourth series of BBC TV drama Hustle. He also appeared in the MTV series Top Buzzer and played the role of Al B in the 2006 production House of 9, alongside Dennis Hopper.

Walters performed on stage in 2002 at the Royal National Theatre in Roy Williams' Sing Yer Heart Out for the Lads and in 2008 at the Royal Court Theatre in Levi David Addai's Oxford Street. Another feature film, Tuesday (2008), sees him playing a jewel thief. He appeared in Bola Agbaje's play Off the Endz at the Royal Court Theatre during February and March 2010.

He made appearances in ITV's police drama The Bill and firefighting drama London's Burning. His Grange Hill history and autobiography was referenced by the comedian Stewart Lee on 16 March 2009, on the BBC Two show Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle in the episode themed on "Toilet Books". Walters also appeared on BBC TV in 2009's adaptation of Andrea Levy's Small Island and as Jack Holt in the short-lived drama Outcasts in February and March 2011.

For the BBC Learning project "Off By Heart Shakespeare", Walters delivered one of Shakespeare's best known speeches — "But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?" from Romeo and Juliet. In October 2011, Walters starred in the Arjun Rose slasher Demons Never Die. From 31 October 2011, he played Dushane in Channel 4's four-part drama Top Boy. In February 2012, he played Chris in the BBC drama Inside Men. In 2013, Walters reprised his role as main character Dushane in the second series of Top Boy.

He managed to get in trouble with the producers on the first day of filming Doctor Who episode "Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS" when he tweeted a picture of himself in his costume in his trailer with the word "space". The picture was immediately removed.

Personal life

Ashley married Danielle Isaie on 22 June 2013; they had a daughter in late August 2014, Amiaya-Love Walters. In early October 2016 they had a son, River Leslie Walters. With ex-partner Natalie, Walters has two sons Shayon Perry (born 2000), Panerai Ashley (born 2003) and one daughter China Sherrece (born 2001). He also has two young daughters Antonia and Ashleigh Walters.

In July 2001, following an argument with a traffic warden, Walters was found to be carrying a loaded Brocock air pistol modified to fire live ammunition. He was arrested and, in 2002, jailed for 18 months, in a young offenders' institute. Having spent the previous nine months in custody, he subsequently served an additional nine months to complete his sentence. On 31 March 2014, he was fined £6.00 after he admitted assaulting a security guard in Aberdeen in September 2013.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1999	Take 2	Bro	Short film
2000	The Elevator	Young man
	Some Voices	Kitchen hand
	Born Romantic	Lee
2004	Bullet Boy	Ricky
2005	House of 9	Al B	Credited as Asher D
	Goal!	Carl Francis
	Get Rich or Die Tryin'	Antoine
2006	Stormbreaker	Wolf
	Cubs	Karl	Short film
	Life and Lyrics	Danny Lewis
2007	WΔZ	Daniel Leone
	Sugarhouse	D
2008	Speed Racer	Prince Kabala
	Tu£sday	Billy
2011	Fedz	Cherokee Blame	Short film
	Reparations for the Soul	The Entity
	Anuvahood	Cracks
	Sket	Trey
	Demons Never Die	Bates
2012	St. George's Day	Kootz
2013	Grace and Danger	Felling
	The Charlatans		Writer and director
2014	Montana	Ryan
2016	Billionaire Ransom	Danny Dorsey
2016	Demain tout commence

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1992	The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles	Omar	Episode: "My First Adventure"
1997	Grange Hill	Andy Phillips	12 episodes
1999	The Murder of Stephen Lawrence	Stuart Lawrence
2000	The Coral Island	Jack
	Storm Damage	Stefan
	Urban Gothic	Leo	Episode: "Dead Meat"
	The Bill	Michael Dexter	Episode: "Search Me"
	Never Never	Lee	2 episodes
2001	Shockers: Parent's Night	Brian
	The Whistle-Blower	Keith Lindo	2 episodes
	The Bill	Jess Thomas	Episode: "Lick of Paint"
	Dark Realm	Student	Episode: "Castle Keep"
2002	The Hidden City	Sid	21 episodes
2003	Holby City	Roy Woodley	Episode: "One of Our Own"
2004	Top Buzzer	Bugsy	Episode: "Germination"
2005	Last Rights	Max	3 episodes
2007	Hustle	Billy Bond	6 episodes
2008	West 10 LDN	Lacey
2009	Small Island	Michael
2010	Five Days	Jamal Matthews	5 episodes
2011	Bedlam	Mark	Episode: "Committed"
	Outcasts	Jack Holt	8 episodes
2011–present	Top Boy	Dushane	Main Role
2012	Inside Men	Chris	4 episodes
	True Love	Paul	Episode: "Story Four"
	Sinbad	Abdul-Fahim	Episode: "House of Games"
2013	Doctor Who	Gregor Van Baalen	Episode: "Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS"
2013	Truckers	Steven Warley	5 episodes
2014	The Musketeers	Charon	Episode: "The Homecoming"
2014	The Secrets	Ray	Episode: "The Return"
2014	Silent Witness	DI Dale Carter	Episodes: "Fraternity" Parts 1 & 2
2015	Cuffs	PC Ryan Draper	8 episodes
2016	The Aliens	Christophe	6 episodes
2017	Safe House	John Channing	4 episodes
2017	In The Dark	DI Tim Cornish	Episodes: "Time of Death" Parts 1 & 2
2018—present	Bulletproof	NCA Detective Ronnie Pike	Main Role - 6 episodes Also Co-Creator

Discography

Studio albums

Date	Title	Chart positions	Credit
		UK
2002	Why Me? Unreleased debut studio album	–	Asher D
14 June 2004	Street Sibling Second studio album	–	Asher D
9 October 2006	In Memory of the Street Fighter Third studio album	–	Asher D
26 February 2009	Ashley Walters Fourth studio album	–	Ashley Walters

Mixtapes

Date	Title	Chart positions	Credit
		UK
June 2006	Cure 4 Cancer First mixtape	–	Asher D
4 February 2007	The Appetiser Second mixtape	–	Asher D
15 December 2011	Forgotten Treasures Vol. 1 Third mixtape	–	Ashley Walters
31 December 2011	Forgotten Treasures Vol. 2 Forth mixtape	–	Ashley Walters
31 December 2011	Forgotten Treasures Vol. 3 Fifth mixtape	–	Ashley Walters
2 January 2012	Forgotten Treasures Vol. 4 Sixth mixtape	––	Ashley Walters
16 February 2012	Forgotten Treasures: The Complete Legacy Compilation mixtape	–	Ashley Walters

Singles

Date	Title	Chart positions	Album	Credit
		UK
27 May 2002	"Back in the Day"/"Why Me?"	#43	Why Me?	Asher D
14 February 2006	"This is Real"	–	In Memory of the Street Fighter	Asher D
1 August 2006	"Andrea"	–		Asher D
9 July 2007	"Still Here"	–		Asher D
5 November 2007	"Inside Out"	–	Non-album single	Asher D featuring Ghetto
28 July 2008	"Lies"	–		Baby J featuring Ashley Walters
28 October 2008	"M.O. (Pt. 2)"	–	Ashley Walters	Ashley Walters
12 January 2009	"With You"	–		Ashley Walters featuring Mutya Buena
18 May 2009	"Own Two Feet"	–		Ashley Walters featuring Chipmunk
29 July 2012	"How You Like Me Now"	–	TBC	Ashley Walters featuring Lisa Moorish
11 November 2012	"Your Love"	–		Ashley Walters featuring Alesha Dixon

External links

• Asher D at IMDb
• Official Ashley Walters website
• Official Asher D Myspace