With Noel Clarke’s third installment of the Hood franchise rapidly approaching, the man himself took some time out to attend a Latimer talk hosted by Remel London. Throughout the live interview/talk he shared his journey with us, spoke about the reasons behind the sequels and why Brotherhood may be the final installment. Here’s 9 things we learned from the talk:
1. He wanted to star as Trife
Noel Clark initially wanted to play the role of Trife, however when the film was eventually made he was no longer the age to play a 16 year old. He didn’t want audiences to see a 30 year old playing a 16 year old and think “that 16 year old looks stressed!” so took on the role of the older bully, Sam.
2. He is of Trinidadian heritage
Noel spoke about being a child and running around at family gatherings and being a bit rowdy. He was told on numerous occasions that he should be on television due to his antics. His Trinidadian mother would often then “cuss” him, before they would party to Calypso music and eat Roti.
3. Noel Clarke, Ashley Walters and Reggie Yates have known each other for years
During the talk, Noel let us all know that Ashley Walters, Reggie Yates and himself have known each other for many years having been casted for similar roles in shows such as Casualty and The Bill.
4. He took many acting roles with no names
“It was either robber 1, or crook 2… Thief 3 or thug 4”, he said. Noel went through a period where he was only being offered very small acting jobs that he felt were stereotypical of being a black man from a certain area. This was one of the reasons that led to Noel writing his own script which we now know as Kidulthood.
5. He turned down an offer of £1500 per week before writing Kidulthood
Noel comically recalled a time when he was offered a role on a soap (which he would not name), and told his mother that he would not be accepting it. Choosing to not accept £1500 a week to act in a soap, in favour of writing a script with no guarantees, was a bold and risky move.
6. Brotherhood will be based 16 years after Kidulthood
Without giving too much away, Noel let us know that Brotherhood takes place 16 years on from Kidulthood and sees Sam attempting to cope with the demands of his new life, whilst trying to avoid the temptations of the streets
7. Kidulthood took 7 years to get onto the big screen
The script for Kidulthood was finished in 1999, however the film wasn’t released until 2006. This was due to Clarke trying to raise money to make the film, meetings with reluctant studio executives and many other issues.
8. Noel Clarke initially didn’t want to make Adulthood
After the success of Kidulthood, Noel Clarke had other scripts that he wanted studios to help turn into movies (such as 4,3,2,1 which would eventually be released at a later date), but they were only interested in the sequel to Kidulthood. Finally, Clarke succumbed and gave the people what they wanted.
9. Brotherhood will be the final installment of the franchise
Regardless of how well Brotherhood does, Noel Clarke is hanging up the franchise after this. His reason’s were that he doesn’t want to “squeeze the story dry.” He feels that after telling this final part of the story, he will have nothing more to add.
“Brotherhood” is out on the 29th August.