When it comes to future acting projects, Lennie James said he still wants to ‘test myself against the big parts’
Bafta-winning actor and writer Lennie James has revealed that he stopped speaking as a child after his mother’s death. James, 60, known for his roles in Mr Loverman and The Walking Dead, shared about his childhood and how he lost his mother Phyllis at the age of 11.
James, who grew up around Streatham and Tooting, explained that since his father was absent from his life, he was moved to a children’s home in South London with his brother Kester. While on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs on Sunday (October 26), James said: “I stopped talking, and so I had the view of the back of my brother’s head again, because he kind of stepped in front of me and kind of looked out for me.
“I remember social services got involved because it was just me and him now. There were quite a few visits to child psychiatrists and child psychologists, and everybody wanting to know why I wasn’t talking.
“I remember my meeting with a social worker because I would make myself known to my brother, speak through him, and we’re in a meeting, and the social worker (was) saying that she was someone I could talk to and that I could trust, and that they’re very worried about me because they need to know what I’m feeling, and why won’t I talk.
“And I remember my brother going, ‘what do you want him to say?’. He goes, ‘he’ll talk when he’s ready, and then you’ll be asking him to shut up’. And he was kind of right.”
Speaking about their time in the children’s home, James added that they had “lucked out”. He shared: “We stayed together, stayed at the same school, stayed in the same neighbourhood. Kept all my same friends.
“If I had to be in a kid’s home, we lucked out, and we were in a good kid’s home. The staff stayed. They were attentive. There wasn’t a big turnover. There were lots of families there. They kept the kids together, and they cared about us, and they looked after us.”
Years on, the children’s home was sold and James entered foster care at 15, an experience that inspired his Bafta-nominated drama, Storm Damage. He revealed: “My foster mother turned the house that she had fostered me into a privately run satellite children’s home, and my foster brother and foster sister worked there and I went back and helped out weekends and holidays.
“I wrote Storm Damage about the first two years of my foster family’s children’s home and the kids that were there and the work that they were doing. I meant it as a kind of testament to them and what they had set out to do for our community.”
Earlier this year, James bagged the leading actor Bafta for his portrayal of Barrington Jedidiah Walker in the BBC’s TV adaptation of Bernardine Evaristo’s novel Mr Loverman, which follows a 74 year old Antiguan-born, vibrant Hackney personality, and his wife of 50 years Carmel who suspects Barry has been unfaithful with other women.
When asked about his future plans, he said: “I want to do something funny. I still want to be challenged. I still want the fear of getting it wrong and the joy of getting it right, or some way towards getting it right. I feel like I’ve got some skills, and I want to test myself against the big parts.”
The actor is also recognised for his role as Morgan Jones in the popular zombie horror series, The Walking Dead. The complete interview can be listened to on the episode airing at 10am on Sunday on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.
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