BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
(FOUR) HE’S ENGLISH
I’d be willing to bet that most people in the US who have seen Idris Elba’s work had no idea that he’s originally from London, England. It’s just the man is so convincing in his American accent that we’d never know that without seeing him in an interview or in a native land project.
(THREE) HE’S A DJ
When he was 14 he started assisting his uncle with his wedding DJ business. He enjoyed it so much that within a year he and some friends started up their own DJ service. Music seems to be a big part of Elba’s life as he DJed under “Big Driis” in the clubs long before he started auditioning for acting roles. Even once his acting career launched, he stuck with it. He’s appeared in a few music videos over the years including ones with Fat Joe and Busta Rhymes. In 2006 he put out a four song EP and even coproduced the intro track on Jay-Z’s “American Gangster”. He’s putting more music out and doesn’t seem to be stopping any time soon.
(TWO) FILM ROLES
Idris Elba is a man of many faces. You can tell this by the roles he has taken in film thus far. He was nominated for “Actors of the Year” for “Tyler Perry’s Daddy’s Little Girls” in 2007. 2007 would also see him in “The Reaping”, “28 Weeks Later”, “American Gangster”, and “This Christmas”. Those are 6 very different movie roles in 2007. In 08 he pulled down four more roles, including “RocknRolla”. In 09 he did the thriller with Ali Larter and Beyonce “Obsessed” and the horror movie “The Unborn”. 2010 saw him co-star in the underappreciated action movie “The Losers” and he’ll soon be in “Takers”. An interesting role is coming up in 2011 as “Heimdall” in “Thor”. It’s a big budget action movie and I think could knock a few more doors down for the guy.
(ONE) TELEVISION ROLES
While he’s getting some massive film roles as of late, Elba’s acting bread is obviously buttered with television work. His first roles were bit parts in TV shows like “Absolutely Fabulous”, “Family Affairs”, and other British hits. Recently he did a 6 episode mini series called “Luther” in the UK. He plays the lead character in this homage to Columbo and old detective shows. And a lot of people know him from his role as “Charles Miner” from the US version of “The Office”. He did well with the role, despite it not lasting long. But the television role that will always stand out to people was his work as “Stringer Bell” on the HBO cult classic “The Wire”. On this show he displayed his talents and I believe opened up a lot of eyes to his skill. Studios and audiences are going to be reluctant to put trust or invested interest in new faces, but those who have seen “The Wire” have no doubts about it. Idris Elba is the real deal and is truly on the cusp of greatness.
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