Waking up in TRUTH is so much better than living in a lie.
What an honor it was to step into the shoes of Nelson Mandela and portray a man who defied odds, broke down barriers, and championed human rights before the eyes of the world.
I was always a real athletic kid. Then when I got older, I just figured it was part of life to keep training.
I’m an ambitious person. I never consider myself in competition with anyone, and I’m not saying that from an arrogant standpoint, it’s just that my journey started so, so long ago, and I’m still on it and I won’t stand still.
My Father always told me that a fool at 40 is a fool for life.
I’m never shaken or stirred.
I come from an era, in my world, where you just had to define yourself as who you are and what you do. I happen to be an actor. I happen to be someone that loves to act, that also likes music, that also likes to speak, and that also has an opinion.
The less I talk about being black, the better.
There’s a fast-track if you can do the networking. For some personalities it works, but for mine it doesn’t.
I’m rebelling against being handed a career, like, ‘You’re the next this; you’re the next that.’ I’m not the next anything, I’m the first me. I can’t be myself, I can’t just be Idris Elba. But that’s just the nature of the business.
The one album I can’t live without is called ‘Cumbolo’ by a band called Culture. Every song on their album is deep, but there’s one in particular called ‘This Train.’ I have a tattoo of the lyrics on my left arm.
What kind of role do you play after someone like Stringer, you know what I mean? You play another gangster. What’s the point of that? I’ve played the gangster. I try to keep it really varied; it just makes for more of a fun and interesting career.
When you come from an under-privileged background, oftentimes, you feel a little overwhelmed by your education or your lack of.
I love working. I’m a workaholic and I’m really privileged for some of the jobs I get offered and so I just want to keep going.
What really excites me in a project is when it goes in a way you haven’t been before.
I love to play different roles. That’s just the kind of actor I am.