Saffron Hocking: Girls thanking me for Top Boy abuse storyline means every part
T
op Boy star Saffron Hocking has stated “accolades are great” however the impression her home abuse storyline has had on survivors worldwide means “more than anything”.
The 29-year-old was nominated for greatest supporting actress on the 2023 Bafta Television Awards following her portrayal of closely pregnant Lauryn Lawrence, who was being coercively managed by her associate and his sister, within the second sequence of the gritty drama on Netflix.
The third and closing sequence is ready to launch on the streaming service on Thursday.
Hocking, who’s an envoy for Refuge, stated the assist she obtained from the charity was “invaluable” forward of portraying a home abuse survivor on the sequence.
“I felt that weight of responsibility for the first time in my acting career,” she advised Cosmopolitan UK.
“It’s an incredible storyline to have as an actor – something to sink your teeth into. Then the fear: I cannot get this wrong.
“It would be my nightmare to portray something that wasn’t real or relatable, or that amplified abuse negatively. I needed to find those people on the front line.”
She continued: “Accolades are great, but women from all over the world thanking me for embodying their stories is incredible.
“I don’t think I was totally prepared for that.
“I’ve received so many messages from survivors around the world – I took all the time to reply, usually in floods of tears… That meant more than anything coming from my peers in the industry.”
Hocking additionally stated she desires to proceed to “challenge misconceptions” with the components she performs.
The actress, who’s supporting a Make It Mandatory marketing campaign calling for the indicators of home abuse and coercive management to be taught in faculties, stated: “This experience has broadened my acting, but also really awakened something in me.
“I want to take on those roles that are meaningful for people… It makes my job feel special.”
Top Boy first aired on Channel 4, beginning in 2011, earlier than it was revived by Netflix in 2019 following curiosity from rapper Drake, who serves as an govt producer on the brand new incarnation.
Created and written by Ronan Bennett, the present is ready on the fictional Summerhouse Estate in Hackney, east London, and options gang kingpins Dushane and Sully, performed by Ashley Walters and Kane “Kano” Robinson, as they ruthlessly try to grow to be the dominant native “top boys”.
It was beforehand introduced that Oscar nominee Barry Keoghan and Brian Gleeson will be a part of the present alongside returning forged members together with rapper Little Simz, whose actual identify is Simbi Ajikawo.