Bafta Rising Star winner Adam Deacon 'lived in hostel'

Adam Deacon poses with Christina Hendricks from US TV show Mad Men

Adam Deacon says despite winning this year's Bafta Rising Star award, he still finds it hard to get parts in films because older casting directors don't know who he is.

The 28-year-old has appeared in Noel Clarke projects Kidulthood and Adulthood as well as TV roles in The Bill, Casualty and Being Human.

Talking at a press conference after the Baftas at London's Royal Opera House, he said it felt "amazing" to finally be recognised by the British film industry.

"10 years ago I was living in a hostel with nowhere to live," he said. "It was a dream.

"It was always one of these things where you keep working and it keeps getting one step better and better until this has happened.

"It's acceptance and a kind of a pat on the back by Bafta."

'Stay focussed'

Deacon, who is from Hackney, east London, began his acting career as a 12-year-old with an appearance in Ali G Indahouse, one of Sacha Baron Cohen's first film projects.

But his big break was playing Jay in 2006 movie, Kidulthood.

The British film, written by Noel Clarke, was a gritty urban story set on west London's council estates.

He reprised the role in the follow-up, Adulthood, in 2008 before appearing in a string of UK films including 4.3.2.1 and Bonded By Blood.

He said his prize, voted for by the public and hundreds of his followers on Twitter, was "a win for the underdog" but said that young actors from urban and inner city areas around the UK needed to persevere to get on in the film world.

"If you're coming from a certain world, or a certain area - call it a council estate - it's that little bit harder to get into the acting profession," he said.

"I meet young people all the time that say they want to do acting and I always tell them that it's not an overnight thing. It can take years and years.

"Stick with it, stay focussed, stay determined and don't be put off by rejection. You get your time."

Generation gap

Adam Deacon said he decided to write, direct and star in his own coming of age film, Anuvahood, last year after a series of rejections.

"When we put out Kidulthood, a Noel Clarke film back in 2006, I felt there was a real strong connection with the audience," he said.

"I used to walk around Hackney and the love I was getting from a lot of young people was phenomenal.

Deacon beat Eddie Redmayne and Tom Hiddleston to the Rising Star award

"At the same time I was going up for castings where a lot of the casting directors never watched these films because of the generation gap. It was very much two worlds.

"It was very much the young people watching these films and the older generation not really giving it that time.

"I was calling my agent and saying, 'Can we do something? I feel like I'm ready to do something bigger now.' It was hard."

Adam Deacon says he also made Anuvahood to show that young people from lower income families should not be type-cast.

"Not everyone from a council estate is going to stab you or kill you," he said.

"It's just to remind people that it's a part you play.

"When you see me with guns and blood, it's just a part. I am approachable."

Adam Deacon also raps in his spare time and performed two songs that appeared in Adulthood but says he prefers acting.

His latest film, Payback Season, is out in March and features him as a Premier League footballer struggling with his fame and new fortune.