The Legacy Of Kidulthood: How Noel Clarke Changed British Cinema

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COMPLEX: How does it feel for you to see the entire trilogy—ten years worth of work—come together in one box set? It must be amazing to see a physical manifestation of this period in your life.

Noel Clarke: Yeah, it’s pretty cool to see the box set and see the three versions of Sam on there; from the first film, where Sam is this bully, to the second—where he’s a guy you don’t mess with—and then the third film where he’s a dad just trying to get by. It’s nice to see how much people still enjoy these films. It’s been an interesting year for me; I got an honorary doctorate from the University I actually went to—the Metropolitan University—and then the BFI said I was the most prolific black British actor. When I was little, I wanted to be number one and it doesn’t really matter what happens from here because I did it.

You mention that BFI accolade and an honorary doctorate—do you ever feel like a trailblazer? You’ve arguably created a whole sub-genre of film and, in the process, became the face of black cinema in the UK.

No, I don’t. I feel like a dad of three who just does his work and gets by. I think people don’t realise the amount of work we put in—they don’t realise it. People see us and think ‘those guys are doing it all again’—but they couldn’t do it! We graft and people probably think we’re doing alright for ourselves, but it’s very hard work. 

One thing the Hood movies capture, is change in London. Do you still recognise the city you grew up in?

You see the gentrification of London in the films. Take the scene in Kidulthood when the girls go to the guy’s house, and she ends up sucking him off—those aren’t hood guys. I grew up in that borough and I still live in that borough. It’s one of the most eclectic boroughs in the country and there are council estates five minutes away from million pound houses; it’s how that part of London has always been. 

My films are set in the same borough as Notting Hill, the Richard Curtis movie. There will be some who say ‘Kidulthood is ridiculous’ and someone will say ‘Notting Hill is ridiculous’ but the truth is that both are correct. Notting Hill is what Richard Curtis saw—he’s a posh, well-off white man who lived by Portobello Road. He can write that film and I believe 100% that’s how it is. People ask where the black faces are in that film, but there aren’t any because they’re all in my film because that’s what I saw! I think as I’ve grown older, I’ve realised that of those two films about London, neither are wrong and both are right. Those things happen in those areas—it just depends on who you are and what you see.

What’s interesting to me is—as someone who grew up away from London—​the film resonated so well with young people from all over the UK, too. What’s the secret to that?

That’s very simple: people out of the cities always want to live in the cities. The urban kids have always been considered the cool kids. It’s rare that a fashion comes from the outside of a city and works its way in; typically, culture is born in a city and just spreads out. I think the Hood films are the same. 

From Bashy soundtracking Adulthood to Stormzy being given his first acting role in Brotherhood, it seems like you’ve always kept a close ear to the ground for how London sounds. Are you all in on the grime scene?

Yes and no. I don’t really keep up on it when I’m not doing the films. I’ve got kids, I spend a lot of time listening to nursery rhymes and their pop songs! What I do—and the reason I look at it differently—is because I’m not following it all the time; I look for what I like and what’s new and I’m not influenced by people that have been making hits for the last year. I’ve got fresh ears to it and I think that’s why we find people who are about to blow. I think that’s why the soundtracks are always so good.

Do you feel any kind of responsibility to seek out grassroots talent?

I want to give opportunities. There’s loads of people out there with talent who just don’t get opportunities, and I’m trying to give them opportunities. We’re not here to hold their hand for the rest of their career but you look at Bashy now and his career path; he was a rapper back in the day, he soundtracked Adulthood, he featured in another of our films 4,3,2,1— I love that guy and I got him an acting agent back in the day. Now he’s in 24! He was at the White House yesterday! He was meeting the Obamas and that’s my guy. That’s my friend. That’s the sort of thing that we’ve done. I’m not trying to take credit for it—it’s his career—but did we help? We did. And then his drive, his talent and his determination has brought him to sitting in the White House. It’s about getting an opportunity.

You directed both Adulthood and Brotherhood. In hindsight, is there a part of you that wishes you could have directed Kidulthood or was that simply too soon?

No, not at all. I was next to the director every day and we’d speak after every shot because he didn’t write the script and he wasn’t from the world that the film was set in. He gave us experience on the film set, but it also made me think I could do it. So when that opportunity came up for the sequel, I took it.

With the Hood trilogy officially a wrap, we have to ask: what does 2017 hold for Noel Clarke?

No idea, mate. As long as I get to the end of it, I’m all good [laughs]. We’re producing 10x10, which is gonna shoot in January and there’s another film we’re gonna shoot in February. There’s a few bits in the works, but I can’t reveal anything just yet. 

'Brotherhood' is available to buy on DVD and Blu Ray now.