A Thousand Blows is the latest historical thriller from Peaky Blinders screenwriter Steven Knight – that also offered a directorial break for Top Boy star Ashley Walters.
Set in the brutal world of criminal gangs in 1880s East London, the series was partly directed by Walters and has already been commissioned for a second outing.
So it was appropriate that Walters was speaking at Hackney bakery Dusty Knuckle, which has created a special sandwich in honour of the series which it selling out daily.
Walters’ 2021 East London-set short film Boys was a calling card for bagging “my first big TV show,” which features Malachi Kirby as real Jamaican-born boxing champ Hezekiah Moscow.
“But what was intriguing was how much I didn’t know about this piece of history. I gained a better understanding of the characters, the world, the period.
“The scripts were amazing, you always knew they were going to be with a Steven Knight script, with the added value of Hezekiah and (friend) Alec coming from Jamaica, and those being real people, it was a no brainer for me.”
“The themes of a love triangle, humanity, racism – we are all still dealing with those things today.
“The rich world we created is specific to that time but a lot hasn’t changed. Unfortunately people are still judged based on the colour of their skin.”
Given the freedom to be experimental he found it a “safe space to work without your creativity being crushed.”
“There was a huge team supporting me making sure everything was as accurate as possible. It was different to anything I have ever done, working with horses, and kids on set. It was tough at times but an amazing experience.”
And coming around to the other side of the camera was enlightening.
“Being an actor and director go hand in hand for me – I walked away from this process as a better actor, but I realised actors are annoying! They have ideas! And they want to have conversations, it’s part of the process dealing with them.
“I can’t tell you all the jargon but what I do know is how actors feel, and I’m able to tap into that.”
That said “everyone requires a different level of interaction.”
While Kirby is “the nicest guy in the game just lovely, calm and focused on his job,” working with Graham required a pep talk in the bathroom mirror before shooting.
“Stephen is a friend of mine for years but it was still quite daunting. The night before the first day I looked in my bathroom mirror practicing how am I going to talk to him. He is a very strong minded actor – I was quite inexperienced – and I knew if I gave in first time I would find it hard to gain any control. I have been on many film sets as an actor but this was a different kettle of fish.”
In the event Graham came up to say “‘I have changed this I have cut that line'” but Walters stood firm on sticking to the script and it all went smoothly.
He also revealed he tried to get it written into his Top Boy contract to direct an episode, but was told “nah it’s not going to work.”
“I was told I couldn’t direct and that proper upset me. But rather than sit and cry about it, I made a short film,” he says.
Having just wrapped his first feature film Animol set in a young offender’s institution, he’s clearly firmly on his way.
“A Thousand Blows” is available now on Disney+ in the UK and Ireland.
