How are you feeling about the film coming out?
Femi Oyeniran: I would say excited. I’m kinda excited but I don’t really get excited about much. I just don’t, I’m very laid back. Maybe on the night [of the premier] I might scream my head off, I’m quite loud when I am around people; talkative and [raising his hands slight above his head]…ahhhhhhhh! But I’m not like that all the time…obviously [Laughs]

So you’re excited?
Femi: Erm…yeah. Excited could be the word; I think it is the word…excited!
Adam Deacon: I’m also excited! I hope for it to open up more doors for all of us and I can just keep working after it; it’s a very exciting time for all of us.

Do you think it will be as well received as Kidulthood?
Femi: Hopefully! [Laughs] I think it will be; it’s bigger. This one is out in 140 cinemas, Kidulthood was out in 42. It’s had more promotion than Kidulthood. Last time there was posters on the underground for Kidulthood, this times there’s posters on the overground. [Laughs] It’s more of a commercial product than Kidulthood. Kidulthood was groundbreaking, Kidulthood was special. The way Kidulthood came out made it exceptional because it was the first of its kind.

Elaborate on that for me?
Femi: I say it was the first of its kind because it captured Youth culture in the UK in this present time.
Adam: I don’t want to say too much before it comes out and ruin it, but I do feel that people will like it. It’s very different to the first film and I think it will be received well. I don’t think people will be disappointed with it.

Are you happy to be a part of this kind of film?
Femi: Yeah. It’s a cult classic; it’s going to be spoken about in 10 years time. I could go on to do cheesy Hollywood films and get paid lots of money but I’ll always…

 …Be Moony [Femi's character]?
Femi: [Laughs] hopefully not! I would of experienced actually being part of that, something actually really genuine…A lot of the films that are made are just fodder for the general public. They know what the general public will buy into; you go the cinema, you watch it you forget about it by the time you get home. But this film is not that.
Adam: Definitely! As a kid I used to look up to actors like Ray Winston and he made Scum, and I feel like Kidulthood was like a kind of Scum for this generation. So to be part of something that big and that so many people related to, so many people spoke about that was…brilliant for my career and where I want to get to. I really glad that people took to it and warmed to is as they did.

Who do you think these films are aimed at; who are they for?
Femi: Everyone. You can’t just say young people because it’s for old people as well; it’s for young people, it’s for old people. It’s for old people because a lot of old people don’t know much about young people. A lot of parents don’t know much about their children…but mainly for young people, that’s the core audience.
Adam: The films are kinda aimed at everyone…but the people that do watch the film are mainly the younger generation. People under the age of 25, 26 but really the films are there for everyone to go and see. For people who don’t come for this whole street culture or that world, for them to watch the film and see an incite into what is going on, really. It’s to open up eyes and if we can get people talking then, hopefully…that can only be a good thing.

Do you prefer Adulthood or Kidulthood?
Femi: I love them both equally!

That’s your answer?
Femi: Yes! [Laughs] It’s [Adulthood] more emotional; it’s more a story of redemptions. It feels more scripted, more planned; it feels more like a story…I think they are two different films. They’re two different movies that can stand-alone. They could have called Adulthood ‘Sam comes out of Prison’…

…Do you think they can stand-alone?
Femi: If you imagine there is no Kidulthood and Adulthood came out; you wouldn’t have to watch the first one. Its two different stories, six years later. If I see you in six years time you’re a different story to the story you are now! I don’t like comparing them. It’s a different stage, a new day and that is what Adulthood represents, a new day!
Adam: Which one do I prefer?... [Smiles] Now I’m not just saying this because I have a bigger part in Adulthood but…I really do believe…that Adulthood might be a better film. It’s just faster, it’s more like an action movie and we don’t make a lot of action films in this country, and on a low budget. I would say it’s very fast, very fast paced and there’s a lot of really good shots from Brian Tufano, [Cinematographer] so I think that people are not going o be disappointed.

What was it like to work with Noel Clarke as a director and actor?
Femi: It was interesting. [Laughs] it was very interesting.

Was he a good director?
Femi: Yes he was. It was weird because he would be laughing with us and then the next minute he would be director guy.
Adam: It was different; I’ll be honest with you. Erm…obviously it was Noels first time directing and I have a lot of love for him and he has brought me with him on all the stuff that he has done, but sometimes there were clashes and we did clash a little bit on set. But at the end of the day he got the best out of me. Regardless of the method that he used he, I feel, got the best out of me and that’s probably the main thing really. The scene that was hardest to shoot was the last ending scene between me and Noel. That was quite weird because he’s directing you, standing in front of you in the scene, so that was quite strange. I think what was good, is that he had a lot of trust in me at the time. I don’t think he felt he had to be down my throat a lot of the time. I think he thought, ‘right do the lines how you want to do it and hopefully it will work’. He gave me a lot of leeway to do things how I wanted to do it.

What would you like the audience to take away from Adulthood? Is there moral to it?
Femi: …Everybody needs somebody; at the end you all need someone to go back home to. Think about the end of the story, that’s what happens really. Everyone goes back to someone. My character goes back to his person. Jay [Adams character] goes back his person…Everyone needs someone! It’s more emotional then Kidulthood.
Adam: Really the moral is that crime doesn’t really pay and something you do when your 15 that could still be around. You might think that’s it’s ended, that you can go and have your family, have children but you might have killed someone when you were 16 years old and those people might be coming for you. It deals with cycles and sometimes it about putting a line down and thinking, ‘you know what, they did do that to me but I’m not going to retaliate, I’m not gonna go out there get a gun and shoot him down’, because you might get shot. It’s about realising what goes around comes around…Karma…Redemption. I hope people will watch it and think I don't want to be like Jay.

…So do you think that this film is coming out at the perfect time?
Adam: The timing couldn’t really be better. What is going on in London is mad! There is so much madness going on! But then to be honest with you, it has been around for a long time. This is not just something that has just stated in the last year. This pandemic of knife crime and gun crime has been around for years. What I really hope, is that people watch the film and if it can just get people talking about, and seeing an incite into that world then hopefully they can think of ways to tackle this problems… because something definitely has to be done.