We caught up with newly-crowned BAFTA winner Adam Deacon after his success last night in the Orange Wednesdays Rising Star category, the only award decided by the public.
Read on to find out who the Anuvahood star wants to thank, his plans for the future and whether he'd leave his beloved East London for LA now that he's an award-winner.
Congratulations Adam! How does it feel to have won a BAFTA?
It hasn't sunk in yet. It's surreal. I was amazed by the support - I felt like I'd already won just by being nominated. I'd never seen that much support for myself - you know, on Twitter we had people like Jack Wilshere tweeting about it! It's very surreal.Thank you to everyone out there, that's all I can say. I was getting Twitter messages today from kids saying they'd spent their last 50p of credit to vote! That means so much. Some of these kids were like 14, or 15 - probably too young to watch my films! (laughs)
Which celebrity endorsement for your BAFTA nomination meant the most to you?
If I'm being honest, probably Jack Wilshere just because he's an Arsenal player! (laughs) But, it was my scene, the urban scene, and it was people I grew up with, so there had been that thought in my head of 'Will they forget me now they'e blown up?' but, you know, Professor Green was backing it, I've got to thank Tulisa and Dappy [from N-Dubz], I've got to thank Alexandra Burke, Jamie Oliver, the TOWIE lot, Frankie Cocozza, Rizzle Kicks, Chipmunk - the list just goes on! (laughs) And thank you to my Deaconettes out there, who just went crazy! (laughs)
You said on stage that this was a win for the underdog - do you think it's going to inspire people to follow in your footsteps?
I hope so, I really do. Young people can see this and think'You know what, I can come from a council estate, I don't have to have thousands of pounds to get into a drama school, it can happen.' I was in a hostel - I don't want to use a sob story, but I used to sit there dreaming about nights like this. So it's crazy. It sounds corny but it is that thing of keeping working and focused and determined and not losing faith. I want to thank my drama teacher Anna Sher, because without her I wouldn't be here.
Is there extra significance for you being from Hackney which has been in the news for other reasons?
Yeah! Hackney had a really bad year with the riots and so hopefully we can turn it around this year and show that there's positive people there. Thank you to Orange, thank you to Pippa and I have to say thank you to BAFTA because they actually took the time out to sit down and work out what I was about - they didn't dismiss me because of the parts that I play. It's amazing.
What's next for you?
I've got a film coming out on March 9 called Payback Season. I play a Premier League footballer, so it's quite different to the other parts I've played, it's a bit more calm and normal. But at the same time, [the character's] family still live in a council estate and before you know it, he gets involved with some of his old friends from the estate, and there's extortion and jealousy. You know, we see the celebrity culture but we don't always see the other side of it. I've also got a film with Bob Hoskins called Outside Bet and a horror movie called Comedown coming out later this year. And at the same time, I'm writing with Michael Vu, we're working on a comedy based on music culture.
Finally, could you ever see yourself moving London and moving to Hollywood now you're a BAFTA winner?
I'd love to do the American thing - I've never been and that's always been a dream of mine. It'd be good to go there on a sort of half-holiday/half-professional trip and see what happens!
Interview: Lewis Bazley Photo: PA
