Noel Clarke has acted in everything from The Bill to Doctor Who, and his 2006 film Kidulthood, which he also wrote, made waves thanks to its depiction of the daily life of London schoolkids. His latest film is the thriller 4.3.2.1 but he spoke to View London's Matthew Turner about Kidulthood's sequel, Adulthood, and adding director to his CV.

Please note, this interview contains spoilers, which are clearly marked.

Writer, actor, now director – what was that like for you?
Noel Clarke (NC): Yeah, it was a lot of fun. It was obviously a challenge, but I'd been acting for a few years and writing for about half of that time as well and so when the film company asked me to direct, it wasn't something that I wanted to miss. So I had to do a test shoot, which was shoot a few scenes from the film, so they could approve that, so I did that and they passed it and then I got to do the feature.

Will you concentrate more on acting, writing or directing now?
NC: Well, I'm hoping – I know there's a real thing in this country where they like to shove you into a box but I'm allowed to do all three because essentially, that's what I do. I remember when Kidulthood came out, people were like, 'Do you write now? Is that what you do?' and I was like, 'Well, no, I still act as well', so if I'm allowed to, I'd like to still be able to do all three. Although not always at the same time.

What have you got coming up?
NC: I'm doing a film with Jim Sturgess called Heartless, which is directed by Philip Ridley and that's just as an actor. And it's great to be able to sit on set and look at the director stressing and be like, 'Ah, yeah', you know, 'cos I've done it. And obviously I'd just like to continue my writing and hopefully to be able to direct more stuff as well.

How did you set about transforming Sam from the villain into the hero or anti-hero?
NC: Well, obviously he's the same character and in the first film he was more like a one-dimensional bully and was there to serve a purpose. And in this film, obviously he's learned a valuable lesson and has to come out and deal with the consequences of his actions. But you know, it had to be his character because he had the biggest journey to go on. Because what a lot of young people that do these things don't realise, it's not just about you, it's about your victims and about how they feel. And I think that people aren't necessarily afraid of prison, you know, and I wanted to show that you go in there, there's people that really do really horrible things and if you're young like Sam was, you know, and you realise, actually, I was just a guy that thought I was some kind of big-shot but actually you go in there and there's really horrible people, you become humble very quickly.

And you either go one of two ways, you either are sorry and you come out and you change or it can make you worse. And I wanted to show a character that is actually truly sorry when he comes out and wants to change his life. But I didn't want to make it too easy - in fact, he didn't come out saying sorry, he just wanted to be left alone. [SPOILERS] But then throughout the day, he's realising what he's done and who he's hurt, so when he says sorry at the end, he's earned it and you know that he truly means it.

When you finished writing the first film, did you always have an idea of how you thought the character's life would go after the film had finished?
NC: No, I didn't. There wasn't even going to be a second film, it wasn't something I was interested in doing. I was back filming series two of Doctor Who at the time and it wasn't something I was thinking about. But then one of the actresses got a bit excited and she was telling people there was going to be a second one and she was going to do this and she was going to do that and I was like, 'This girl's mad', but then I thought, 'Actually, if I was going to do a second one, what would I do?' And I thought it would have to be that character and supported by Jay as well, that character, because he was friends with Trife and what would happen to you if your friend got killed like that, what would it turn you into?

[SPOILERS] And I think throughout this film you see Jay as almost one-dimensional like Sam was but then at the end he says, 'I'm here because of you', you know, 'You did this, if it wasn't for you I wouldn't be like this'. And you think 'Oh wow', that's what happened, it becomes like a vicious circle, people do things and then other people want to get them back and at some point somebody has to walk away or it never ends. Or it does end when someone dies.

He was such a bad character in the first film - were you worried that it would be difficult for audiences to be sympathetic towards him in this one?
NC: Yeah, yeah, completely. I can see that. But even at the end, if they're not sympathetic, I don't necessarily mind. You can't always be forgiven by everyone if you do something as deplorable as he'd done. But if you're truly sorry within yourself, I think that's what counts. Not everyone's going to forgive you, but you don't always deserve to be forgiven. But what counts is if you've done something and you've learned from that mistake and you are not going to do it again, and you are truly sorry and you've changed your life and become a better person, and it's one less person doing wrong on the streets, I think that's what matters. So if people come out and they're like, 'Well, I still don't like the character', that's fine, as long as they can see that the message is there, that you can be an individual and walk away and not participate in continuing the circle of violence.

Why do you think Kidulthood was so popular?
NC: I think it's just the air of authenticity because other films have come out that have tried to do the same thing and they've dropped like a lead safe. And I think the reason Kidulthood has been so popular is the authenticity, I think people can tell. If it's written by people that know or people that actually care, I think the audience can tell and I think that's what happened. Because, I mean, apart from Bridget Jones, Mr Bean or 28 Days Later, I defy you to tell me any British sequels made in this country. Right? And the reason we got a sequel is because the audience spoke. They went to see the film because their generation was captured by the movie and they went to see it.

Sequels just don't happen in this country, for British films. And I think it is the authenticity, it's the fact that they related to it. A lot of adults and journalists were saying, 'This doesn't happen, this is ridiculous, kids don't have sex at fifteen, this is outrageous' and all the kids were like, 'We do this, man!'

For Part Two of the interview, click the link below.