I kind of think Idris Elba has found the sweet spot of fame. He’s well-known but not mind-crushingly famous. He moves around between Marvel projects, leading roles in film and TV and interesting character work. He gets magazine covers but he’s still able to blend into a crowd. He makes enough money to work on side projects and he gets to take summers off to deejay in Ibiza. So I’m sort of uncomfortable with the idea that Idris should feel like he hasn’t quite reached the top of the heap – from what we know of him, he seems pretty happy where he is. And he works a lot. But The Daily Beast asked him about it, like they were trying to get him to complain about not being accepted in Hollywood or whatever. They asked him about a lot of other stuff too – go here to read the full piece. Some highlights:
The Eric Garner case: “It’s very frustrating. It’s been this way for a very long time in America, and there are waves where it becomes more publicized. It’s an absolute shame that there is no justice for Eric Garner. It’s an absolute shame. That is bound to put a dent in public confidence in the police. It’s bound to. And that’s where the situation gets circular. It’s a damn shame because it really does not feel like people are paying attention to that rising issue. It’s a crisis, and people don’t seem to be paying enough attention.”
Whether he really sold weed at Carolines, like Dave Chappelle claimed: “Is that what he said? Oh my God! Yeah man, ten-bags. That’s all we did! I worked there on-and-off for about a year, man. I loved that job. I’m surprised Dave remembered it! That was in the late ‘90s.”
What people would hear when Big Driis is DJing: “You’d hear house, man. Very bass-y house, if I was in my element and playing what I like to play. But I have to play at certain places where I can’t just play house, so I’ll play a mixture of old-school hip-hop to reggae to house to drum and bass. A mishmash of good music.”
Whether he’s a Taylor Swift fan: “I do love Taylor Swift, man. I think she’s all right!”
Whether he feels he should be a Hollywood Leading Man at this point: “That’s an interesting question. The real question is, “What is a leading man?” and “Who is a leading man now?” There’s a massive relatability to the characters and the actors that we like now, and then there are actors that have massive popularity who don’t have the leading man esteem. So it leads you to question: “What is a leading man these days?”
On racism & Hollywood: “I just don’t really know how to answer this question. The thing is that I work and I know there’s a shortage of black actors on film, but the only way I know I’m going to change that is by working, and gradually changing the perception of that. There’s no other way I can do that. If I’m not getting written a role in Fifty Shades of Grey, then I need to show them that I absolutely can be in that role in that film, and expand their imaginations. In England, when I played Luther, there were no other black detectives—and the role wasn’t written for a black man. I played the role, and before I knew it, there were three or four other black detectives on TV on British television—Chiwetel, myself, Adrian Lester. It’s not because of me, but that the imagination of people that control this went, “A-ha.”
Whether he was offered the People Mag Sexiest Man Alive cover: “No, they didn’t offer me the cover.”
Whether he’s unhappy with his Marvel contract: “I don’t know where people got that, man. I was quite specifically talking about the comparison between playing Heimdall on one day, and playing Mandela on the next. That’s sloppy journalism, or just really bad misquoting. I have a great relationship with the Marvel team, and the character of Heimdall. People are really running with this thing like, “Oh my God, he doesn’t want to be with Marvel anymore.” People thinking that comparing those roles means I don’t want to be with Marvel, well, that’s crazy.
There’s a lot of other stuff in the interview, like about his Mi Mandela album, where he got musical artists from around the world to record music inspired by the life and times of Mandela. He also talks about Ebola and the American coverage of “the Ebola panic” and Africa in general. It’s actually one of the better interviews I’ve ever read with Idris. You know I love him, but usually after one of his interviews, I’m like “Maybe not so much with the talking, baby.”
As for his comments about Marvel – the interviewer referenced Idris’s piece with The Telegraph, which I covered here. Idris is right, he was specifically talking about the difficulty of changing mindsets between Heimdall and Mandela. But… go back and read the original piece. It’s not really shoddy journalism to say that Idris was complaining about the Marvel work. Still, he must have gotten a call and now he’s back on message.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
The ball gag? Where is the ball gag? Who removed the ball gag? Pretty certain he got a call from Kevin Feige since he spoiled not only Heimdall’s but Loki’s presence in AoU, which apparently was supposed to be a surprise for viewers.
Actually, though, there’s very little toothgrind-y stuff in there. A first for Idris!
What he said about all he can do is work kinda dovetailed quite nicely with the Chris Rock and not being a role model topic we were talking about recently, non?
Blimey. Idris said some stuff and I didn’t cringe at all of it. I might get a fit of the vapours!
•Sixer•
Smelling salts dearest?
Perhaps he is suffering from the vapors and it is causing him to talk sensibly?
*wilts*
I removed the ball gag…but it’s cuz I love to hear him talk!!!!!
*slowly backs away in shame*
You will accept responsibility for any damaged, yes,
*sniffs*
Okay.
😢
He is so AWESOME… Have yall heard the music?? its actually surprisingly good!
Judging by how he described it, I’d probably dig it.
I’m afraid to listen and have it be so bad my lady business will dry up faster than Taylor Swift’s bang situation. It’s good? Don’t you steer me wrong, QQ!
No no Abbott Is pretty mellow and chill and nice i was surprised
Sounds like Marvel took him into their war room for reprogramming after his Avengers leak.
I wonder what that entailed?
I can imagine K with his baseball cap on waving a big stick and threatening a man who is 5ft bigger than he is. Or, perhaps he just handed the job to a 10ft tall lawyer and a brief case who forced him to sit down with electrodes to his head, with the wig on which he complained about and then forced to watch Avengers 50x over without stopping.
I like where you are going with this, ‘P’enny. I’m not that creative. I’d just wave his Marvel check in front of him and do a “now you see it, now you don’t” demonstration.
The Eric Garner case was a travesty of justice. He should be happy that he isn’t attached to the 50 shades of bad lit movie.
Yeah, but if Idris was playing as Christian Grey, I’d be first in line to see it. Jamie Dornan doesn’t have the same sex appeal as Idris. I’ve been watching Luther and…..*fans self*
•VG•
Luther and Alice.
Oh. MY.
*fans face with VG*
@Virgilia Coriolanus,
I was thinking the exact same thing about 50 Shades. I’ve never read the book and have no intentions of seeing the movie, even though I do love Jamie Dornan and think that he is beautiful.
That said, I would probably make an exception if Idris had gotten the role. 🙂
He is so handsome.
As for the Eric Garner case, I do think people are paying attention. Finally. You can’t watch that video without seeing a man being brutally and callously killed for a minor offense. He was not resisting in any way, but just trying to breathe. It’s sickening. It stuns me that the grand jury didn’t indict. I think the problem is, people like me are outraged, but I have no idea what to do about it. It has to stop. How do we stop it?
First, I think we need outside investigators and prosecutors. Local prosecutors have too much of a cozy relationship with the police. The police are their witnesses. When a cop is on the stand in front of a grand jury and the prosecutor is not invested in getting an indictment, or is actually opposed to getting an indictment, and treats the officer like a state witness, of course he won’t be indicted. The grand jury is then merely theater in which to present evidence of the police-person’s innocence.
That’s a good idea.
Kind of OT but I just watched a documentary on Netflix about Whitey Bulger, and the collusion between criminals, federal agencies, legal counsel, and law enforcement was appalling. Whitey said “Christmas time is for cops and children” and the holiday pay-outs for their apathy was between $25K-$50K per cop, which is a helluva lot in the 1970s.
Our society has created an environment where police officers are above the law and shrouded in a wide-reaching blanket of protection. There are no checks and balances for these people–no accountability.
In addition to what •Kiddo• said, we have to create an environment where people can admit their mistakes so they then can make an effort to change. Right now, we live in a ‘Shame and Blame’ environment which compunds the problem. And no one takes responsibility for their errors. Ever. We are always pointing fingers at others. Those in privelged positions (especially white males) have to own the issue and work on correcting it.
http://m.motherjones.com/politics/2014/11/science-of-racism-prejudice
http://gawker.com/my-vassar-college-faculty-id-makes-everything-ok-1664133077
I’ve been talking about this loads elsewhere. Learned a lot of late – about my own country and policing (we have loads to be ashamed of, too) as well as what’s going down with you guys.
I think the very first thing you need is mandated reporting. The FBI collates figures on law enforcement deaths (during apprehension, during custody, in car chases) but exactly what is reported and what isn’t and who reports and who doesn’t, is entirely voluntary for each police force. That really shocked me. Here in the UK, all such deaths must be reported to the central coroner, who then releases annual figures,
If you compare the two countries, adjusted for population, US law enforcement is responsible for 5x more deaths than UK law enforcement. And that’s taking the under-reported FBI figures. If you take the citizen’s reporting websites tallies, it’s well over 10x more deaths. That’s shocking, right? If a similar country’s police can apprehend most criminals without killing them, surely the US police can manage it, too?
So I think that open and public reporting is the first step. To fix a problem, you first have to have an honest accounting of the problem.
That is where are system of government can be problematic. States push back at mandated reporting to federal agencies, like the FBI, claiming infringement of state’s rights and their congressional representatives block legislation. What does get passed results in erratic data collection and policy development. Throw an overabundance of weapons and a willingness to use them into the mix and it is a dangerous combination
See? I’m learning a bit more every day! (Thanks).
One way to stop it is to show up even if the victim doesn’t look like you. Too often people stay home because they think that because the victim didn’t look like them that they won’t be welcomed. You will be. When EVERYONE shows up, to peacefully protest, things change.
“Showing up” to disrupt Christmas tree lightings and block major highways during rush hour does get the issue covered on the news but only goes so far. Congress feels absolutely no impact or pressure to change anything based on such protests and local officials develop frustration when their budgets are depleted trying to keep protestors from getting run over on major interstates. Sympathy gets lost. People also get bored, drop out, until the next outrageous incident. Telephone, email, and letter campaigns backing the protests and proposing viable change put pressure on legislatures. John Boehner can change the channel to avoid coverage of protests in NYC. He cannot avoid 3,000 letters a day that his staffers have to open, record, and answer.
I’m just happy that celebs are speaking out about this injustice. Lately it’s like open war on Black men. I know the,Garner case has received a lot of attention as well as Michael Brown. But just a few days ago a funneral was held here in NY for a Black man who was shot by a cop for simply walking down the stairs. Akai Gurley who was leaving his girlfriend’s apartment grew tired of waiting for the elevator decided to take the stairs. The cop who was patrolling the building pointed his flashlight at Gurley and without a word fired his weapon hitting Gurley in the chest. He called it an accidental shooting.
“In England, when I played Luther, there were no other black detectives—and the role wasn’t written for a black man. I played the role, and before I knew it, there were three or four other black detectives on TV on British television—Chiwetel, myself, Adrian Lester. It’s not because of me, but that the imagination of people that control this went, ‘A-ha.’ ”
That’s what racism is, my sweet little love muffin–when there’s a shortage of roles being written for black people. It’s great that he feels like he’s changing the game, but he’s a great actor that any TV series would be lucky to have. What about the medium-to-average black actor who’s just trying to get his/her foot in the door?
He definitely skirted the question there but to be fair, I don’t think Idris is really a political guy, I think he’d rather smoke a bowl and have sex (with me) instead.
Since I’m married, you can have sex with him, but I want a full report afterwards. Details.
That’s true, Kitten. And Luther wasn’t really the first black policeman; he was the first LEAD black policeman. But it’s also true that it was colour blind casting (something I’m passionate about) and that, since Luther, there have been several police shows with black leads – that DIDN’T feature race issues – on British TV.
Usually, I die a little inside every time Idris speaks, even though he is, without doubt, the world’s hottest man. But I’ll give him props this time.
He’s just talking about his individual role in the process, though, isn’t he? He’s not obligated or entitled to speak on behalf of the up and coming black actor. He’s just talking about himself and that’s fine by me.
MINE. All others step aside please and thank you.
“I don’t know where they got the idea I am unhappy about Marvel” LMAO
yes, I agree he was on about mindset issues, but he was also well grumbling as well. And I see no apology to Tom H or Marvel for blowing the leak?
I still like Idris, I’ve been crushing on him since the early days – when he was in Ultraviolet. Shame his ego has got a bit big for his boots.
I do think he may be grovelling because – mmm threat of editing his scene from AoU? I wonder.
More likely threat of financial penalties in his contract being activated. Scenes get edited out all the time.
Oh my stars! Getting to the end of Idris interview excerpts without feeling the need to smash my face on the desk? This must be a sign for a glorious day ahead.
I know, Miss Jane! As my grandmother used to say, “Well, I’ll go to the foot of my stairs.” (I really should look up the origin of that phrase).
I’ll go to the foot of our stairs
Meaning
An exclamation of surprise.
Origin
This originated in the North of England. It did travel to others parts of the UK during the 20th century, notably the Birmingham area where it was commonplace, but not much further, and is little known in other parts of the English-speaking world. It is now less used than previously, although it is still staple fare for any writer wishing to write a part for a stage northerner.
There are also less well-known alternatives with the same meaning – ‘the back of our house’ and ‘the bottom of our garden’. All the variants were too low-status and colloquial to have been written down and I can find no printed examples of it until the late 20th century. The expression is certainly older than that and I have a clear recollection of my parents using it in the West Midlands in the 1950s and I would guess that it is older still.
Beyond that there’s little more to tell. Exactly when the phrase was coined, by whom, and what it refers to, I don’t know.
I was curious, and bored at work, so I looked it up.
Thank you, Sister Carrie. Saved me a search!
I looked it up too, Sixer, because I got so very excited to use a new turn of phrase. Only I was so concerned with actually trying to work it into an American conversation, I forgot what the sentence was. By the time someone said something surprising at the Heir/Heiress’ school, I turned to the principal and said “I fell down at the bottom of the stairs!” which only reenforces my potted reputation, thankyouverymuch.
I feel like we are being rewarded for something but I cannot figure out what – it can’t be good behavior.
Not succumbing to body language and engagement tyranny?
Or the apocalypse is upon us
I thought this was a good interview and he makes a few good points. Does he usually sound stupid or something? He doesn’t come across as a stupid man.
He just usually has foot in mouth disease.
Just want to sit down to a nice smoke session with Big Dris, man.
oooh yes… this would be perfection. Count me in!
I think this is one fine looking man. As I get older, the more attractive black men are. I’d put him head over heels over any pasty white boy out there right now. Even his name is sexy!
I didn’t read the article or the other comments, but I don’t need to for what I have to say: this is the hottest man in the world. Why on earth did they choose the blond with the big ears over His Hotness to play James Bond? Bad, bad call.
Erica Garner chose his fate. Sad as it is. But he was a criminal who strong armed a cop. What do you expect to come out of that? A gentle pat on the hand.
Whether or not you think he was resisting, that should absolutely not the excuse the cop’s behavior for choking him. Which I think people should be reminded WAS ILLEGAL TO DO!
I’m sorry, I see that he was talking, but I was too busy imagining all the ways I’d hit it like the wrath of God.
Oh yes, British man talking about racism in America while implying it’s fairer in England.
Well, stay in England then and enjoy.
I’m having a bad day. Sorry if this offended you, but I felt like it needed to be said.