From prison bars to Emmy buzz: ‘Adolescence’ star Ashley Walters’ wild Hollywood comeback shocks fans

Ashley Walters was once banned from the US. Now Spielberg’s calling and he’s an Emmy nominee.

Ashley Walters’ Hollywood breakthrough reads like a plot twist nobody saw coming. The former So Solid Crew rapper turned actor, once jailed for gun possession and barred from entering the United States, is now rubbing shoulders with Steven Spielberg and M. Night Shyamalan and he’s up for an Emmy.

In 2002, Walters, then 19, was sentenced to 18 months in a young offenders’ institution for possession of a firearm. The conviction left a stain on his career and shut him out of the American industry for years. “I was basically banned from the country,” he admitted. While he built a name in the UK through gritty dramas like Top Boy and co-creating Bulletproof, the global stage remained out of reach.

That all changed with Adolescence. The Netflix series, which became the platform’s most-watched show of 2025 with 145 million views, not only catapulted Walters into awards contention but reopened doors once slammed shut. “Five years ago, there was absolutely no chance that I was going to be in this position,” he said through tears to his close friend and co-star Stephen Graham.

Now filming Shyamalan’s supernatural thriller Remain alongside Jake Gyllenhaal, Walters is finally living the Hollywood dream he once gave up on. Spielberg’s team reportedly reached out after Adolescence, and a major new TV role is already lined up, written specifically for him.

Ironically, Walters had been preparing to quit acting entirely before Adolescence reignited his screen career. He was deep into directing his passion project Animol, a film inspired by his own time behind bars. The shoot is now on hold as his acting resurgence takes centre stage.

From Peckham to Emmy-nominated prestige, Walters’ redemption arc is nearly unbelievable, even to him. “It’s crazy, it’s nuts, it’s surreal,” he said. “Man, this boy from Peckham!”