Idris Elba: biography, career, personal life

Childhood and family

Idrissa (Idris) Akuna Elba was born in the autumn of 1972 in the London area of ​​Hackney. His father, Winston Elba, was an employee at a Ford plant, and his mother, Eva, a native of the African state of Ghana, was an office worker. The future actor's parents met and got married in Winston's homeland, Sierra Leone. A little later they emigrated to the UK and settled in London.

Idris Elba as a child

The name "Idris" is translated from the Welsh dialect as "fiery lord". This name is also found in the Koran - this was the name of one of the preachers of Islam.

Since childhood, Elba's main hobby has been music. Together with his uncle, Idris wrote songs for wedding ceremonies. So he became interested in arranging, then mastered the DJ console and began performing at parties under the pseudonym Big Driis. In 1987, he, a 16-year-old boy, founded his own studio, which organized performances by young DJs.

Young Idris Elba

However, this activity brought practically no money. Therefore, he had to work hard in several places to provide for himself and his family, and pay the bills for renting an apartment. During this period, Idris Elba was installing tires, calling potential car service clients, and at night he worked behind a conveyor belt at the same Ford plant where his father worked.

In the late eighties, Idris Elba won a government grant to study at a school at the National Youth Musical Theater. It was at this place that he began to study acting. At first, acting was an optional subject in the schedule of the talented young DJ, but over time, the craving for acting became stronger and stronger until it finally outweighed everything else.

Biography

Idrissa Akuna Elba, the only child in the family, was born in Hackney, London. At first he studied at school in Canning Town, where he first played on stage. His father is from Sierra Leone and his mother is from Ghana. Elba grew up in East Ham, and began helping his uncle with his wedding DJ business in 1986. Later he began his career as a DJ, performing in nightclubs under the name DJ Big Driis at the age of 19. Started auditioning for television in his early twenties. From 1989 to 1990, Idris worked at the Ford plant in Dagenham.

Idris Elba photography

Career

At the beginning of his career, Idris Elba acted on television. He played his first, most significant role in the TV series “Doctor Elinor Bromwell” in 1995, appearing in a cameo role in one episode. He also starred in such TV series as “One More at a Time” and “Danger Zone.”

Idris Elba photography

After the 1990s, Elba began acting in films, playing mainly supporting roles.
Among them were the films: “Searching for Brother” (2000), “Buffalo Soldiers” (2001) and others. In 2005, he played the main role in the television movie Once Upon a Time in April. By 2007, his career had become more vibrant - Elba was involved in more than five films. His most successful films were “28 Weeks Later” by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and “The Harvest” by Stephen Hopkins. In 2008, Idris Elba played one of the main roles in Guy Ritchie's crime comedy RocknRolla. In 2009, he joined the cast of the sitcom “The Office” for a while. In 2010, Elba played in the film “Boy Raiders” and played the main role in the TV series “Luther.” Advertising:
In 2011, Kenneth Branagh's science-fiction film Thor, based on the comic book of the same name, was released. Idris Elba played the role of a warrior named Heimdall. Also in the same year, the second season of the television series “Luther” began, for his role in which Elba received a Golden Globe in 2012 in the category “Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film.”

Idris Elba photography

Current and future roles

Two films with Idris' participation are planned for 2012 - the mystical action film Ghost Rider 2 and the science fiction thriller Prometheus. Idris Elba is also involved in one of the main roles in Guillermo del Toro's film The Pacific, which is due out in 2013.

In July 2011, the actor, in an interview with IGN at San Diego Comic-Con International, said that he intended to return in the Thor sequel, and a month later he confirmed that the contract had been signed.

Personal life

From 1997 to 2001, Idris Elba was married to actress Dormova Sherman, with whom he has a daughter, Isan (b. 2002). The actor spends most of his time in London and also owns a home in Atlanta so he can be close to his daughter.

Elba is a fan of the London football club Arsenal, and his father is a fan of Manchester United.

Best weeks

Acting career of Idris Elba

Idris Elba began his path to fame as an actor in the early 90s. In 1995, he landed a role in the first season of Bromwell, a soap opera about Victorian doctors. His character was the handsome thief Charlie Carter, who lost his wife in childbirth with a newborn daughter in his arms.

The number of successful films by Idris Elba has long gone into the dozens

After this, Idris Elba became a frequent guest on British television channels, while simultaneously appearing on the stage. A breakthrough for the young British guy was the Shakespearean production of Troilus and Cressida, in which he played the role of Achilles.

Over the next 7 years, Idris appeared in about 20 television projects, but he became famous for the serial detective drama “The Wire,” which aired on HBO from 2002 to 2008. Elba brought to life the image of the smart and merciless drug dealer Stringer Bell.

The Wire: Idris Elba as Stringer Three years later, he starred in the acclaimed drama Once Upon a Time in April, about the Rwandan genocide. After that, the actor’s filmography included the musical film “Gospel,” the melodrama “Daddy’s Daughter,” as well as the horror films “The Harvest” and “28 Weeks Later.”

Idris Elba is in great physical shape

In 2008, Idris starred in Guy Ritchie's RocknRolla, forming The Wild Bunch with the heroes of Gerard Butler and Tom Hardy. His character, a gangster named Mummy, literally charmed the audience. In the same year, the actor was nominated for the first time for the Screen Actors Guild Award for his role in Ridley Scott's action film Gangster.

Idris Elba as gangster Mummy

At that time, the award bypassed the actor. However, later the name of the talented native of London began to appear frequently on the list of its nominees. The TV series “The Big R”, as well as the British detective drama “Luther”, became successful in this regard for the actor. The last of these films became especially popular among television viewers, and as a result, the role of London investigator John Luther, an adherent of unconventional methods of work, brought his performer a Golden Globe Award and several Emmy nominations.

“Luther” is the most popular series with Idris Elba

The success of “Luther” from the first episodes attracted the attention of Hollywood directors to the actor, and already in 2011, Idris Elba joined the Marvel universe, receiving the role of the guardian of the gates of Asgard in the blockbuster “Thor” with Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston. The film (and its sequel, released in 2013) became the actor’s most commercially successful project.

Idris Elba in the movie Thor

In 2012, the actor again collaborated with Ridley Scott, this time in the science fiction genre. He was remembered by the audience of “Prometheus”, who especially liked his scene together with Charlize Theron. Soon after, rumors appeared in the press that Idris was one of the most likely candidates for the role of the new James Bond, but the actor himself refused this opportunity: “James Bond must be handsome. And I’m already a bit old.” As a result, Daniel Craig became the new agent 007.

Still from the film "Prometheus"

However, Elba had no end to successful projects even without the “Bond”, just look at his roles in the action movie “Pacific Rim” with Charlie Hunnam and the biographical film “Long Walk to Freedom”, where Nelson Mandela himself became his hero, and the company The actor was composed by the wonderful Naomie Harris.

Idris Elba as Nelson Mandela

The voice of Idris Elba can be heard in a number of sensational projects: in Zootopia he voiced the police chief Buffalo, and in The Jungle Book he voiced the treacherous tiger Shere Khan.

In 2020, the long-awaited film adaptation of Stephen King's novel The Dark Tower was released. Idris Elba played the central character - Roland Deschain, nicknamed the Shooter, who seeks to get into the Dark Tower in order to prevent the death of humanity. His antagonist, an ageless magician, was brought to the screen by Matthew McConaughey.

"The Dark Tower": Idris Elba as the Gunslinger

The same year, he took part in the Discovery documentary project “The Fighter.” For a year, he had to take wrestling training to the limit, while at the same time not forgetting about filming, in order to enter the ring against a professional athlete in the finals. Idris Elba fight

Movies

A cinematic biography of Idris Elba started in the early 1990s. The actor appeared on screen in a number of British TV series – “A Purely English Murder” and “One More.” Viewers paid attention to the actor only after the release of the popular series “Doctor Elinor Bromwell.”

Idris Elba in The Wire

Idris Elba becomes a frequent guest in various British and then American serial projects. But Idris’s first fame came not in the cinema, but in the theater. The actor was involved in the play “Troilus and Cressida”, where he played Achilles. The production was a huge success, the troupe went on tour first across the country and then throughout Europe.

In the late 90s, Elba appeared in the French comedy “Beloved Mother-in-Law,” in which Catherine Deneuve, Vincent Lindon, and Mathilde Seigner played the main roles. In 2000, the actor received a minor role in the thriller “Looking for My Brother.” At the same time, Idris appeared in the series “Soul Food” about the life of a large African-American family living in Chicago.

Idris Elba in the movie Once Upon a Time in April

In 2001, the NBC television channel aired the police drama Law and Order, in which the actor played a role in one of the episodes. In 2002, the series “The Wire” was released, where Elba was entrusted with a prominent role. And three years later, viewers saw the poignant drama about the genocide in Rwanda “Once Upon a Time in April,” where Idris demonstrated excellent acting and getting into character.

At the same time, Idris joined the cast of the detective series "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation - Miami", which dealt with the work of the police department of the resort city, and also starred in a minor role in the series "Taxi Driver". In the drama “One Love,” Idris Elba played the main character Aaron, a keyboard player in a church choir, and the fiancé of Serena’s girlfriend (Sherine Anderson).

Idris Elba and Steve Carell in the movie "The Office"

In 2005, with the participation of Idris Elba, the films “Once Upon a Time in April” and “The Office” were released; two years later, the artist got the main role in the thriller “The Harvest” about strange events taking place in a small American town. In the same year, director Ridley Scott invited the British artist to play a supporting role in the crime thriller “Gangster,” in which Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, and Josh Brolin played the main roles.

In the same year, the actor played the main role in the melodrama “Daddy's Daughter”. The actor played a simple car mechanic who, having lost his job, gets a job as the personal driver of lawyer Julia (Gabrielle Union).

The young actor, whose height was 190 cm, managed to consolidate his success with the musical film “Gospel” and the horror film “28 Weeks Later.” Worldwide fame came to Idris Elba after the release of the family film “Christmas”. The rights to broadcast this box-office film were acquired by many countries.

Idris Elba in the TV series Luther

The name of the talented Briton began to appear regularly on the lists of nominees for prestigious film awards in 2008, after the release of the action film “Gangster.”

The first project that brought the Briton an award was the drama “Luther”. For his work in the film, Elba received the prestigious Golden Globe Award and received several Emmy nominations.

Russian viewers know and love the Hollywood star for the films “Boy Raiders,” “Pacific Rim,” “Rock and Rolla,” “Thor,” “Ghost Rider” and “Prometheus.” All of these films have high ratings and brought generous box office receipts to the creators.

Idris Elba in the movie Thor

On March 12, 2012, the Discovery Channel began airing the show “Idris Elba: The Fighter,” a documentary chronicle about how one of today’s most famous British actors, at the age of 44, realized his dream of entering a real boxing ring. Elba’s coach was Kieran Keddle, a former mixfighter who told Gazeta.Ru about the details of the project.

In the biographical drama Long Walk to Freedom, Idris Elba played the role of Nelson Mandela. The wife of the African leader was played by Naomie Harris.

Today, the British filmography includes more than 60 titles of films and TV series. The most recent projects with the participation of Idris Elba are the blockbusters “Thor-2. Kingdom of Darkness", "Shooter" and "No Good Deeds". In 2020, the actor starred in the documentary series “Without Brakes,” where he acted as a test pilot on airplanes and drag racing. At the same time, the artist played a major role in the superhero action film “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” in which the main characters were played by Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, and Scarlett Johansson. Box office receipts from the film brought the creators $1.4 million.

Idris Elba in the movie Gunman

The same year, the actor played in the action-packed action film Gunman the partner of special agent Jim Terje (Sean Penn), who has to hide from his own superiors, who decided to get rid of the employee. Elba also received the main role in the war drama “Beasts of No Nation” about the civil war in West Africa.

Personal life of Idris Elba

From 1997 to 2001, Idris Elba was married to actress Dormove Sherman, who in 2002, shortly after the breakup, gave him a daughter, Isan. The girl lives with her mother in Atlanta, but her father visits her regularly.

Isan, daughter of Idris Elba

The marriage to Kim Elba and the relationship with Sonya Hamlin turned out to be much shorter. From 2012 to 2013, he dated black singer K. Michelle, then for three years he was in a serious relationship with makeup artist Nayana Garth. In 2014, she gave birth to his son, Winston. In 2020, the couple broke up.

Idris Elba with his son Winston and ex-lover Nayana

Full name and parents

The real name of the famous actor is Idrissa Akuna Elba. He was born on September 6, 1972 in London. The boy's parents came to the British capital from two different West African countries - his mother from Ghana and his father from Sierra Leone. By the way, they had nothing to do with cinema or other forms of art. The future actor's father worked at a car factory, and his mother worked in an office.

Idris Elba now

Among Idris's latest works are two projects from the Marvel film studio: "Thor: Ragnarok" and "Avengers: Infinity War", which again brought together Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Robert Downey Jr., the eternal Thor Chris Hemsworth, as well as Mark Ruffalo and Scarlett Johansson.
2019 gave audiences a film adaptation of the cult musical “Cats,” in which, in addition to Elba, the legendary Ian McKellen and Judi Dench took part.

On March 16, 2020, the actor tweeted that he had contracted the coronavirus. But he hastened to reassure fans that he felt fine - the symptoms were like a common cold, but Idris and his family had to isolate at home.