Bafta-winning actor and writer Lennie James has said he stopped talking when he was a child following the death of his mother.
James, 60, known for Mr Loverman and The Walking Dead, opened up about his childhood and how at the age of 11 he lost his mother Phyllis.
He said that because his father was not in his life, he was moved to a children’s home in south London with his brother Kester.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, 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 the children’s home, James added that the pair had “lucked out”.
He said: “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 later, the children’s home was sold and James went into foster care at the age of 15 which inspired his Bafta nominated drama Storm Damage.
He said: “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 won 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, exuberant Hackney personality, and his wife of 50 years Carmel who senses Barry has been cheating on her with other women.
Speaking about what the star wants to do next, 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 known for playing Morgan Jones in the zombie horror series The Walking Dead.
The full interview can be heard on the episode which airs at 10am on Sunday on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.
