For Walker, The Gathering is just the beginning. As he tells Principle, he’s been busy with two major projects this year. With this star clearly on the rise, we sit down to talk about The Gathering, his humble beginnings, adjusting to newfound fame, and what the future might hold.

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Congratulations on The Gathering and everything it has achieved. How did you find this role? Was it presented to you?

No, so I had to audition for The Gathering. Catherine Willis [the casting director] came to Liverpool, and I went to meet her in this little room in an old historic building in the middle of town. For what The Gathering eventually became, I never would’ve thought that everything would start from that tiny room, meeting just the casting director. It all kind of grew from there. Catherine came to Liverpool, I met her, did my audition, and then there were a couple of rounds in London where I had to go down and meet the production team and everyone. So yeah, I think I was back and forth about four or five times—but I ended up getting it in the end. I was over the moon.

How long did you have to wait until you found out you got the role? Sometimes actors tell me they forget they even tried for the part and suddenly it’s theirs.

That was the case with me too. It was a good couple of months, and then around Easter time, I remember I got a random call from the agent saying, “Remember that role you auditioned for a while ago—the one you really wanted because of all the parkour stuff?” I was like, “Ah, they had me up for it?” And then, yeah, I got confirmed. My initial reaction—I just burst into tears with happiness because it was such a big thing for me. It really meant a lot.

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When the show debuted on Channel 4 last year, it was a success. Since releasing the series on Netflix last month, it’s even bigger. What’s it been like seeing the show have almost a rebirth?

It’s been really nice because I feel like, although it did really well on Channel 4, it didn’t reach enough people. Helen Marsh’s writing is phenomenal. I feel like it should’ve been on Netflix from the beginning, in my opinion—just to reach a bigger audience. You know, everyone has Netflix and everyone’s always looking for the next best thing to watch. So it was really nice to kind of get a second wind with The Gathering. Yeah, it’s almost like it came out all over again.

Netflix has not only introduced your talent to a wider audience on a global scale but also the city of Liverpool. That must feel special.

It is. It really is. I mean, especially with the way The Gathering is written—there are a lot of amazing shows that come out of Liverpool, but with The Gathering, there was something special about it. You can really sense the warmth of the people of Liverpool through the show. It’s not all bad—it also shows the best in people. And for that to be on Netflix, for people to look at this city… Liverpool is such an amazing backdrop. For everything to have been filmed there, and for everyone to be able to see what Liverpool looks like and how beautiful it is, that’s really nice.

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When you initially wrapped filming, did you have a gut feeling it was going to be well received? 

I did. Personally, I did because I remember reading the script and thinking, “Wow, this is something different.” Even when we were filming, the team and everybody involved really wanted to do their job to the best of their ability. All of the cast, we’d go out after we’d filmed something, just enjoying ourselves like a group of mates. Everything just felt so natural and so right, if that makes sense. It was just a really nice environment to be in.

It’s fair to say your character, Adam, is quite a complex character. Are there ways in which you relate to him?

I see a couple of similarities between me and Adam, which I thought I could bring to the screen. I felt like he was someone who really understood, not only growing up in Liverpool, but also growing up around complex people. I took elements of different things I’ve seen in people while growing up, and I felt that to create a character with such depth… Well, it was easy anyway because the writing was all there in the script, on the page. I think I’ve got a bit of Adam’s swag. That’s it. And his heart maybe, but the cheeky side? I don’t know so much.

Your role earned you a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, which is huge. Where were you when you found out?

I was on the set of another project that I’ve just finished filming. I was in my trailer at the time, and the signal on my phone was going funny. I couldn’t get in touch with anybody. Then, all of a sudden, there was a bombardment of emails, DMs, everything. My agents had given me like 10 missed calls. And then I got a knock on my door where someone said, “We’re ready for set,” and I was like, “I could’ve sworn I just saw we were nominated for a BAFTA”… and then it turned out it was right.

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Your first-ever role was in Doctor Who. While it was only a one-episode appearance, it’s still such a historic show. How did that come about?

That came about quite randomly. I had to audition for that role. It was around lockdown, or just before lockdown, when I got confirmed for it. It was a bit of a strange one, to be fair, because it was completely unexpected. At that point, I was doing so many auditions. Then I got confirmed for Doctor Who, and it was like, ‘Oh, nice, first time on set.’ It was a really cool experience.

I read you signed with a modelling agency at age 19 and were also a welterweight boxer. Was acting always part of the plan? Or was it a late discovery?

I always did acting before I did anything else. I used to do it alongside boxing, and boxing for me was kind of… like a mask, almost. It was where I learned a lot of confidence, and I learned a lot about myself, just as much as I did with acting. I’d tell everybody, “I’m boxing, so I can’t go out and get up to mischief.” But then, every Friday night, I was also going to local drama workshops. I was in there with my younger brother, he’s an actor too. We’d go every week, and it was just kind of kept on the down low until something actually materialised from it. It was always a passion. That was where my heart always was, and I always wanted to be an actor.

When you were a young teen, did you have a different idea of what your life would be now? Or did you always believe acting would be your thing?

I genuinely didn’t know, to be fair. I just knew I wanted to do it, no matter what it would be. But I didn’t have an inkling at all that it would develop or start out the way it has. So, it’s been a really nice surprise.

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Since the success of The Gathering, I assume many people now start to recognise you. What’s that been like? Has that taken some adjusting?

I mean, I’ve always been really welcoming of it, you know. Everyone’s really nice and really positive when I’m approached and things like that. It’s nothing but nice stuff—really supportive. I’m still getting used to it, to be honest. It’s not something I think I can ever really get used to, because I’ve already seen the show and watched it millions of times. Then there are people who are watching it for the first time, and they’re bumping into me like, “Oh, you’re the lad from The Gathering.” You know, it’s exciting, and it’s just nice. It’s nice that people are as excited as I was for the show to come out.

Did it feel like it went from 0 to 100 real quick?

Yeah, yeah. I felt like it went from 0 to 100, and then it just gradually shot up to like a thousand, because more and more people started seeing it. You know, it’s reaching more people and a wider audience. No matter where I go in the country, even when I come to London, there’ll be people who notice me. And when I go back home, I’m always being recognised there as well. So yeah, it’s nice. It’s really nice, especially when it’s teenagers and stuff. I’d like to think I can inspire teenagers, especially from my hometown and other small towns because I didn’t go to drama school or anything. A lot of what I learned, I picked up on set, just by working around great actors and watching what they were doing, that kind of thing.

And sometimes you can think, “I didn’t go to drama school, so I can’t get anywhere in the industry,” but that wasn’t the case for me. That’s a question I get asked a lot, “Did you go to drama school?” So it’s nice to speak to people about my journey and how it might be different from others’.

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Have you ever had a sense of imposter syndrome because you didn’t go to drama school?

Yeah, definitely. I mean, even now sometimes, not having been to drama school makes me wonder, “Could I have learned something? Is there something I could’ve brought with me to set today that would’ve helped?” But I’ve worked with a lot of great actors who haven’t necessarily been to drama school. I feel like it depends on how you approach your character and your script. For me, I like to use real-life experience, intuition, and psychology. Looking at the psychology behind people and situations. So I’ve just got a different way of looking at it. I like to dig deep, look beyond the surface, and explore the different layers of a person. And I think that kind of questioning, “If I went to drama school, would I have learned this?” is natural.

That questioning proves you really care about the job at hand and always want to be able to do it to the best of your ability. 

Definitely, yeah, because it’s a passion. You want to do it to the best of your ability, and you don’t want to leave any stones unturned. You want to be true to yourself and true to the character, and respect what the writers put on the page. It’s also about making sure people understand it and that it translates to the audience. That’s the beauty of it, and that’s what I love most about it. It really gets my brain going.

You mentioned earlier that you had been working on another project. Are there any genres or styles you really want to tackle next? 

I’d love to do anything and everything. I really just want to test myself. But I would especially like to do action—kind of like Marvel, DC, that sort of stuff. I’m carrying on with the parkour from The Gathering, so I’d love to keep that kind of thing open and do a lot of action stuff. That’s what really gets me excited. At the same time, I also love the idea of doing romance dramas or rom-coms. I’m open to all of it, really.

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Have you thought about doing a play?

I’ve been thinking about it for a while, and although I really, really appreciate and honestly respect anyone who does theatre, I don’t know if, at this stage in my career, I would want to. But maybe in the future, I would definitely love to test myself, because I know it takes a lot of hard work and dedication. TV is hard work too, but theatre is a different type of craft. So maybe in the future. For now, I’m focusing on TV and film.

Performing every night does also look intense. 

And you’re there with a live audience, and the audience is different every night. I suppose that’s the beauty of it as well. But I think I’d let my nerves get the better of me, to be honest.

Are you quite shy?

I can be shy. I don’t seem to be when I’m on set and in front of a camera, but as a person, I think I can be quite shy, yeah, I suppose. Acting is a way of getting out of your comfort zone, and that’s what I’ve always loved about it. It helped me a lot as a kid, too. It gave me as much confidence as boxing did.

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What’s the rest of your 2025 looking like? You said you had been working on something new. Is that something we might see this year? Are you working on a couple of things? 

I’ve been working on two different projects so far this year. I’m waiting on news about another one, but at the moment, those two are set to come out in early 2026. I want to tell you more, but I’m not 100% sure if my agents would want me to say anything just yet. But yeah, there’s something for Netflix and something for Channel 5.

What are they both like?

They’re quite different. The characters are different, but they’re both gritty, crime shows. 

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