British psychological crime drama Adolescence has taken 2025 by storm, earning critical acclaim, an impressive 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and sweeping the Emmy Awards. One of its biggest fans is also Hollywood actor, producer, and entrepreneur Oliver Trevena, from Hastings, who spoke exclusively to the Express while attending and being a speaker at the 10th Expand North Star (ENS) conference in Dubai, the world’s largest gathering of tech startups and investors. The actor, producer, and entrepreneur has been in over 15 feature films, including Plane alongside Gerard Butler and Paradox Effect with Harvey Keitel, the latter earning him the Breakout Actor Award at the 2024 Rome Film Festival.

He told The Express in an exclusive interview: “Adolescence for me was both the hardest thing I’ve ever watched emotionally and the best thing I’ve ever seen creatively.” Created by Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham, Adolescence has truly captivated audiences worldwide.

The narrative unfolds across six emotionally intense episodes, each filmed in a single, continuous take, a bold directorial choice that immerses the audience in the characters’ chaos, trauma, and fleeting moments of hope.

The format leaves no room for error, allowing raw performances and real-time pacing to build a sense of relentless tension and intimacy rarely seen on television.

The story centres on 13-year-old Jamie Miller, living in Doncaster, Yorkshire, who is arrested for the shocking murder of fellow classmate Katie. As his devastated family, therapist and the detective leading the case all ask the same question of what really happened, the series begins to unravel not only the events leading to the tragedy but also the deeper forces behind them.

Adolescence delves fearlessly into themes of cyberbullying, toxic masculinity, the impact of social media, and the influence of the modern ‘manosphere’ on young minds. Through its unflinching realism and emotional depth, it examines how a seemingly ordinary boy can be drawn down a dark path in an increasingly digital, disconnected world.

The series became one of the breakout hits of the year, taking home eight Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series.

15-year-old Owen Cooper made history as the youngest male actor ever to win at the Primetime Emmys. Cooper, who had never acted professionally before Adolescence, received the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.

Oliver Trevena, who grew up in Hastings, East Sussex, has also produced the documentary Educated Not Trained, which follows young girls in rural India as they fight for an education against challenges like child marriage, sexual assault, and misogyny.

He said, “I think telling stories, using our platform, and finding stories that might be untold, like Educated Not Trained, is so important. It was part of a series called Unmuted, which focused on women’s issues around the world that I honestly didn’t even know about. When Charlotte Lubert, the producer, contacted me and told me about these issues, we both knew we had to tell this story.”

After two decades in Los Angeles, Trevena expanded his career into health and wellness. He is the co-founder of Caliwater, alongside Vanessa Hudgens, a cactus water brand sourced from the sustainable prickly pear cactus of the Sonoran Desert. Low in sugar and calories and rich in antioxidants, Caliwater embodies Trevena’s mission to merge wellness with sustainability.

Trevena is also an investor and creative director for several wellness ventures, including Biogena ONE for which he is a Global Ambassador, Superpower, Kommunity Fitness, and Next Health, a cutting-edge longevity and optimisation center offering IV therapy, hormone treatments, and regenerative wellness.

Recently, Trevena also became a co-owner of British electric car company RBW, which hand-builds modernised versions of classic MGs and Mercedes combining vintage design with modern technology and sustainability.

Whether it’s producing films that shed light on global injustices, investing in wellness ventures, or backing a family-run electric car company, Oliver Trevena’s choices share one thread: authenticity.

He said: “Every company I’ve invested in is because I genuinely use it myself or I’m part of it myself. I think for any founder or investor, you’ve got to believe in it and you’ve got to want to be a part of it.”