TV & Movies
The actor has reprised the iconic role of Donte Charles.
Though they dont quite head off into the sunset, theres still the promise of a new start.
[Warning: Plot spoilers ahead.]
Were you similar to your character at school in any ways?
I wouldn’t say that I was a good boy, but I was more of a class clown.
I was always getting up to mischief.
I got away with things.
Who was your most inspiring teacher?
My drama teacher, Mrs. Whitehead.
As a kid, you need that sometimes.
Have you shown your children old episodes ofWaterloo Road, back in the iconic leather jacket days?
They didn’t have a scooby-doo, especially my three-year-old, Elsie!
It was just mad, because I was just a kid when I was filming it.
You forget what an amazing job it was and all the great storylines, too.
How was that experience?
Its definitely an experience that I’ll never forget, put it that way.
But no, it’s all fun and games.
Now its gone full circle and it’ll be doing the same for them.
You and the original cast were still teenagers while you were filming the earlier seasons of the show.
What are some of your favourite memories on set?
I joined that show when I was 16 or 17 years old.
I was there for four years, and I just had the time of my life.
She just pulled away from me in front of everyone, and I was mortified!
How was it reuniting with Katie Griffiths all these years later?
Working with Katie, it was just like picking up where we left off.
Theyre coming back as a big happy family.
That was a huge selling point for me because they’ve had their ups and downs.
I remember walking into the room with Katie and Angela [Griffin, aka.
headteacher Kim Campbell] and I was literally welling up, man.
It’s just an absolute joy.
The new series ofWaterloo Roadengages with a lot of contemporary issues, including Black Lives Matter.
How important is it for a show like this to evolve with the times?
That was one of the visions that Cameron Roach [the producer] wanted to bring to life.
Some of the topics that we discuss and portray… theyre very relatable to what’s going on nowadays.
Everyone can relate, not only to the storylines, but also the characters.
We get a whole bunch of actors on, and just have a laugh.
Its just really nice, insightful, and light-hearted.
I think people will really enjoy it.
How does he go about trying to rebuild from such a devastating event?
Throughout the series, he’s dealing with it, and sometimes not in the right way.
Youll see Donny definitely grow a lot more than he originally did.
Id never realised that I was grieving so badly, as well.
Understanding Donte’s grief helped me understand my own grief.
It was a blessing in disguise.
This article was originally published onJan.
