Idris Elba: ‘I’ll always be an east London boy!’
Idris Elba talks humble beginnings, last week’s Luther, and why he’s a softie when it comes to his kids
Hands up! Who thinks the latest series of Luther was the most gripping to date? It’s no wonder the hunky 46-year-old has both Britain and Hollywood enchanted. Not bad for an East London boy who was so skint when he first arrived in America looking for an acting job that he ended up sleeping in his car.
But Idris got lucky, bagging a role in gritty US drama The Wire, which would cement his acting career. Now, the father-of-two, who’s engaged to American model Sabrina Dhowre, 29, has returned with a third series of British police drama, Luther, in which he plays the rulebending, brooding title role. Marc Baker caught up with the actor about the latest series and those Bond rumours...
On Luther…
I’m surprised how funny this show is, given it can be so dark and scary. When we hung out with real detectives for research purposes, we realised they have this massive sense of humour. They have to, otherwise they’d go mad! There’s a conscious effort to introduce some light moments – we didn’t push that envelope in the first two series. And Luther’s got a new haircut! He never changes his clothes though, does he? And nobody really mentions that. I guess he’s like Columbo, who never changed his mac. It’s been great to film in Hackney again. This season we shot around where I grew up. I love London in Luther – the city has a character of its own.
On Luther being a corrupt cop…
Well, this season was waiting to happen, wasn’t it! After two series terrorising people and breaking the law, he’s now being held accountable. In this series, he’s held by the collar. But like every good superhero, you still want him to get away with it!
On his ambitions...
When I turned 40, I wanted to achieve all my ambitions and now, at 46, I feel I’ve got a real hand on my music and acting. I’m going for all of it, properly! I’m even in a Mumford & Sons video! I was so surprised when Marcus [Mumford] rang me up. We ended up sat in a pub in Shepherd’s Bush, and he asked me to be in the video!
On those James Bond rumours...
I’m neither shaken nor stirred by it. It’s just a rumour. It’s such a massive legacy to be even considered as the first
black guy to play 007, though. It’s a privilege.
On being a Hollywood star...
I still pinch myself. At the last Golden Globes, I was so excited. When I won, I went up and heard this voice – it was Brad Pitt saying, ‘ Well done, Idris.’ I was flabbergasted. He’s a movie icon! I had a massive grin on my face. However, you can take the boy out of the East End, but you can’t take the East End out of the boy!
On his hardest role…
Mandela [in Mandela – Long Walk To Freedom in 2014]. I prepped for a year. Mandela’s so iconic, people know who he is and what he sounds like. I look nothing nor sound anything like him. We shot it in Soweto, Johannesburg, and they had me speaking to real crowds. The director had me walk into a theatre with 600 people in, where they were showing an old film. I had to walk down the middle, stop the film and do a speech as Mandela! I was terrified. The hairs on the back of my neck lifted up, but they embraced me.
On his love of DJ-ing...
My uncle was a DJ. He played Nigerian records at lots of African weddings. He had three sons and me, and we’d go out and DJ with him. I then outgrew what my uncle was doing, and started DJ-ing by myself.
On humble beginnings…
I got a grant from the Prince’s Trust to help me start my acting. I had a love affair with New York, as I always liked Robert De Niro – he came from the city. I went out there when I was 21. I went every year for three or four months, and the Prince’s Trust got me through the early days. I lived in a car in the beginning. When I got to New York, the marketplace was so saturated, I couldn’t get an acting job! So, I shipped over my 4,000 records, and my daughter, Isan, who is 17 now, was literally raised on that money I made DJ-ing in little bars in the East Village! The day before my daughter was born, I went for my last audition for The Wire. The day she was born, I got the part of Stringer Bell. My life changed on that one day.
Watch the new series of Luther on BBC iPlayer now