From Thandie Newton to Sophie Okonedo, Chiwetel Ejiofor to Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, there’s a new generation of black British actors becoming Hollywood stars playing characters that calls for a little more than the British twang.
The latest to join this bandwagon is Idris Elba, the charismatic and enigmatic actor who made his American debut playing the notorious drug kingpin Stringer Bell in the award winning HBO drama “The Wire.” Since then, the 35 year old actor has racked up numerous movie credits playing alongside Oscar Winning actors such as Denzel Washington and Hillary Swank.
With several upcoming projects set to hit the big screen, Elba talks to Samantha Ofole-Prince about his movie career.
SOP: Let’s start with the name Idris, which I know is an African name, and although you were born and raised in the UK, you do have an African heritage?
IE: Yes, Ghana and Sierra Leone. Idrissa is my name and I shortened it at school because it was confusing to a lot of people.
SOP: What does the name actually mean?
IE: Depends on what tribe you’re in and Idrissa is like a leader — a first born leader.
SOP: Have you visited either ancestral countries?
IE: No, I haven’t been to either Ghana or Sierra Leone, but I’ve been to Africa though and have been to Rwanda to shoot Sometimes in April and also Botswana.
SOP: Speaking of Botswana, you did a movie adapted from the book by Alexander McCall Smith with Jill Scott about a Botswana detective?
IE: Yeah, it’s called The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency and Jill Scott is the lead and Anthony Minghella directed it. I did that in August and play Charlie Coto who’s a businessman.
SOP: You’re a very intense actor and watching your movies it’s clear that you study the character and immense yourself in that role and you’re now certainly one of the few black British actors who have successfully made it in Hollywood. Do you get a sense that you have made and do you think it was a combination of luck, skills and accent that aided your career?
IE: Thanks. I think English actors who come to America have to be prepared to go in and work hard because it’s very, very tough and very competitive. I have been very lucky. I didn’t broadcast the fact that I was English whilst I was on The Wire. The people that hired me didn’t know that I was English either. Now it’s more common knowledge but I’d say its luck and hard work really.
SOP: You have been in five movies this year with the most recent being This Christmas, but you were also in the movie of the year American Gangster sharing screen time with Denzel: what was he like to work with?
IE: We had a couple of scenes together but I didn’t’ see Denzel and he didn’t see me. We didn’t have any moments together. It’s an intense film and the pressure for Denzel is huge and me too.
SOP: Many people are definitely comparing you to Denzel as being the next big actor of our generation. How does that comparison make you feel?
IE: I think it’s such a compliment but at the same time I am very different from Denzel. There are other people that remind you more of him. I think I am doing something that fills my own lane. I would love to be as successful as Denzel who has had a great, great career as an actor.
SOP: I am sure I am not the first person and probably won’t be the last to bring up the Denzel comparison so just hearing it over and over again do you get a little big headed and maybe a tad pompous?
IE: That’s part of why I am happy that I didn’t just come off the boat and have been doing this for a long time. If I was going to get big headed it would been at my first job or whilst I was on The Wire.
SOP: I guess being a Virgo and an earth sign has to keep you pretty grounded. It’s said they are true perfectionists and analyze everything – is there any truth to that where you’re concerned?
IE: [laugh] Yes, I over analyze stuff a lot of times and I am a perfectionist or like to think so.
SOP: How is the music going? A lot of people don’t know that you write lyrics also.
IE: Wonderful. I wrote something for Angie Stone which I think is going to be her second single. I met Angie on the set of her video shoot and I reached out to her and she gave me a break. I also wrote a reduced intro to Jay Z’s new album. It’s a great honor to be honored by someone that is such a genius doing what he does. I was honored to be able to open his album for him and that was big for me. I also have a record label called Hedelar Records in England that I am starting to try and get artists.
SOP: What about directing? Is that something we will see you do in the near future?
IE: I did something on You Tube. We made a short film which is very good for what it is. Part of what I want to do is move forward and make good films.
SOP: Being an actor and just knowing that you are merely playing a role, would you place any limitations on the parts you would or wouldn’t play and I don’t mean to be facetious by asking if you would play a gay character in a gay love scene such as in Brokeback Mountain for example?
IE: I do not try to say that I would not do any kind of role. I do believe I need to do what is relevant to me and to do what moves me. If I did a movie like Brokeback Mountain it’s because the story either moved me to make me do it and take me to that place. I would definitely see it as a challenge to do it and if I felt that I could do then I would and that is how I see it for myself.
SOP: What about nudity?
IE: I haven’t done any nudity
SOP: If the role or character called for it would you balk at the thought or would you do?
IE: Absolutely do it.
SOP: I hear you have a movie production company. Is that true?
IE: I have a production company which is now where I am going to start to filter in these films that I want to make. It’s a small grassroots production company. Everyone is multitasking these days in order to get on. Not only do you just act and try to be as great as you can, but now you have to really try to diversify.
SOP: You have been in the States for about 8 years. Was it a huge culture adjustment for you when you first got here?
IE: It was easy because I had been coming to New York every year before I even moved here but I couldn’t afford to move, but every year I would be here so I didn’t have to go through a harsh adjustment period because I was already accustomed to America.
SOP: You live in New York and moved out there to establish yourself as an actor but why New York as opposed to Los Angeles where the major studios are housed?
IE: The energy. I love the energy in New York and still do to this day.
SOP: Are you predominately in New York and do you own a home in Los Angeles also?
IE: No. I own a house in Atlanta and that is where I stay sometimes
SOP: In the upcoming movie This Christmas, you’re working with another very talented British actor Delroy Lindo and initially both your characters don’t gel, but I get the sense that you are both best of buddies — call it screen chemistry or the bonding of the Brits. Was it difficult to work with him playing his arch enemy?
IE: We don’t know each other well but we do get on really well. He loves to improvise so we definitely brought that to the table.
SOP: Now that movie has wrapped, what did you take away from that project?
IE: Pride. It’s such a good film and I think it’s a classic. I want it to do very well and I want people to see it. It’s so good and it’s so rich.
SOP: Being British and being part of American culture in that movie celebrating Christmas soul food style, was it enriching for you to experience that culture?
IE: I don’t do America very often during the holidays because I travel and so I haven’t been accustomed to it, but I definitely love the way Americans celebrate and enjoyed it. Their holidays are so huge. Halloween and all that it seems they really go in and celebrate it.
SOP: In American Gangster you play a rival dealer with similarities to your character in The Wire and in This Christmas you’re a shady son who returns home for Christmas, is it much of a stretch for you now to play the bad guy?
IE: Every character I play has its own role. When the real Frank Lucas and I spoke, he was in a wheel chair and you could see in his eyes the whole recollection and he told me that my character Tango was a lot bigger than I was. There was something about his presence. This character was a different character and I tried to bring something different to him.
SOP: With American Gangster already out and This Christmas scheduled for release November 21st, what’s the next project we can expect from you?
IE: The next movie I have coming out will be the Guy Ritchie one called RocknRolla. We had a phone call conversation and he called me to discuss the script. I read the script and liked it and went to London and did the movie.
SOP: There has certainly been a British invasion in Hollywood with a lot of British actors achieving success and fame in America. Had you remained in the UK do you think your career would have been equally as successful?
IE: I think if I had remained in the UK it would have inevitable that I would have headed this way someway, somehow. The roles are becoming faceless and we are accepting people from different cultures more and talent speaks for itself so why shouldn’t I get the chance to play an American even though I am not.
SOP: Are you happy Idris?
IE: Yeah, I mean I am not unhappy at all. There are things that I want to strive for in my life but I’II get there. I am happy that I get the opportunity to do what I love and I am very thankful to be where I am so yeah I am happy.
