Yum Yum!!! I’m speechless.
41-year-old actor Idris Elba is getting his due. And our fave British import is talking about what got him there and his work ethic as a professional and a dad (to both daughter Isan and baby boy Winston). From working the door as a bouncer at nightclubs to this.
On his DJ, rapper, actor multiple personalities: “All these things I do come from the same place. When I’m rapping, it’s kind of like this character that I put on. It’s a character who can write songs and lyrics really easily, so therefore I can stand up and do it too. Acting is definitely jumping into someone’s personality.”
On his extremely hectic and “random” life as a global star...and a dad: “I flew in yesterday from Ghana to do a one-day shoot here [in L.A.]…Twenty-four hours ago, I was in Africa doing something very different, and 24 hours from now, I’ll be back home in London with my family in a completely different environment. And next week, I’m gonna be in front of a bunch of people playing music in Ibiza.”
“It’s very, very random, but part of me is used to it,” he says. “It’s become my life’s pattern. And I think I’ve always been this way—this variedness is a part of my personality. I’m not schizophrenic or anything, but literally one day to the next, I can become very different people.”
On reinventing himself: “I’ve been that guy for a while, where people recognize me but they’re not sure why. I’d done a lot of popcorn films, but the reinvention came when I decided to do more of the character-driven stuff that won’t be seen by as many people. But it makes people start to realize, ‘Wait a second, this guy is that guy.’”
On being a selective actor: “It’s hard not to sound disgruntled sometimes as an actor.” [..] “Look, I know that I work a lot, but I’d prefer to wait sometimes because I don’t want to just do rubbish films anymore or characters that anyone can play.”
More pics from Idris’ cover spread:
Photographs by Mark Seliger
