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'Prometheus' Actor Idris Elba on Popularity, Power and Prince's Trust
Saturday, June 30, 2012 at 10:52PM 
Idris Elba accepts the 2012 Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV movie for his performance in "Luther"
“It’s important to know who you are as an actor or you’re bound for failure. In Hollywood, power is when someone does not have to green-light your projects. I have popularity but not so much power.” - Idris Elba
For all of the power Idris Elba says he lacks in Hollywood, this British actor surely makes up for it by having major influence -- which he uses for good, in underserved communities throughout England.
Elba is currently an anti-crime ambassador for Prince’s Trust, a U.K. based organization that provides career training, employment, mentoring and personal development skills to at-risk, disadvantaged and offending or ex-offending young people aged 14-30.
Idris Elba supports the programs at Prince’s Trust through various activities including round-table discussions, film events and fundraising efforts -- as a way to give back to the very people who believed in his potential as an actor; and to inspire young people to believe in themselves.
When Idris Elba was a teenager, he won a place in the National Youth Musical Theatre (NYMT) based in London. A $1,500 grant from Prince’s Trust helped him further develop his acting skills at NYMT. It is at the National Youth Musical Theatre that Elba began to take acting seriously with regards to a career pursuit.
After successfully landing acting roles in his hometown, Elba saved up some money from working at his other job -- as a wedding DJ -- and moved to the United States. He struggled to find work here in the U.S. for three years, particularly the kind of roles that he wanted to play. So, Elba supported himself financially by working nights as a DJ in New York.
Even now as he sports accolades for stellar acting performances in major primetime crime dramas such as HBO’s “The Wire” and BBC’s “Luther,” Idris Elba still maintains a love for music -- DJing celebrity parties and releasing R&B/Soul/Pop albums under the name Driis. He also co-produced and performed on the into to rapper Jay-Z’s “American Gangster” album.
All music and acting aside, Idris Elba changes lives by being someone who leads by example -- going after his dreams full-force rather than wondering what-could-have-been while botching Ford Fiestas during a night shift at an auto manufacturing plant. His confidence is powerful enough to show young people the possibilities of what happens when you believe in yourself, and no green light in Hollywood can make or break that -- it comes from within -- although, a little nudge from community-centered organizations like Prince’s Trust doesn’t hurt either!
Do YOU think Idris Elba would play a convincing James Bond?
What were YOUR favorite fields of study during your teenage years?
Reader Comments (5)
It's very cool that Idris continues to support the very foundation that helped propel him in the direction he's now found himself.
I don't know if Idris would make a convincing James Bond. Now, do I think he'd make an especially astounding secret agent not named James Bond, then yeah. He's shown his versatility in roles from The Wire to Luther.
James Bond? While Daniel Craig is still kicking around the scene? That's a tough sell. Perhaps the main character in a Bourne flick, now that Matt Damon isn't reprising his role? Hmmm...
And to think that I still haven't seen Prometheus. What's wrong with me?
Since Bond is an established franchise with a well known premise I don't think Idris would be an appropriate choice since it would be totally rewriting the concept. It would be like casting Mark Wahlberg as Shaft in a new series about that character. Idris might be good in the role of an agent written for him and that would make sense. On the other hand, I'm not much to say anything since I've never heard of Idris Elba before today and don't know that I've seen him in anything.
Lee
Tossing It Out
A black James Bond would never work. I'm black, but I know there are limits to what the public would accept.
- Maurice Mitchell
The Geek Twins | Film Sketchr
@thegeektwins | @mauricem1972
Angela,
It's always nice when actors, musicians and even other influential people pay it forward by inspiring those who could use some positive mentors in their lives. I've only seen Idris Elba in his later projects such as Thor and Obsessed...I still haven't watched Luther or The Wire but do agree that he is versatile enough to play a secret agent.
Herman,
Funny that you mention Daniel Craig...he's in line to become the next King Dong on this blog, lol. I like Daniel Craig and I would probably watch Idris in Bourne flick but Jeremy Renner already took the leading spot, so that ship has probably sailed...I like the thought tho...maybe they can write something in for him :)
I asked the James Bond question because there were rumors (check NPR, CNN and The Huffington Post) about him possibly joining the list of Bond men sometime in the future. I'm satisfied with Daniel Craig and was just curious about your thoughts on Idris fitting the role IF Craig ever stopped doing it one day.
I haven't seen Prometheus either, so you're not alone and no, there's nothing wrong with us. There's always DVD, VOD and On-Demand. Ha! Plus, I'm just waiting for Dark Night Rises to come out in theaters. It's turning out to be one heck of a summer at the box office.
Arlee,
Your points are understandable. I thought the same thing when they cast Tyler Perry in the upcoming Alex Cross film...it's so inappropriate because Morgan Freeman has been doing those James Patterson movies for years, so it's out of order to go from Freeman being the leading detective to Perry. Hopefully Perry will give a good performance in his new role. We'll find out in October!
Maurice,
Yes, that is soooo likely that the public wouldn't be welcoming to the idea...but you never know, maybe audiences will be surprisingly welcoming since they're getting used to seeing Elba in a lot of different flicks :)
Idris Elba told NPR that it's not what he wants anyway...to be "the black James Bond." He said that although he would consider the role if it was offered to him, "Sean Connery wasn't 'The Scottish James Bond' and Daniel Craig isn't 'The blue-eyed James Bond" so if he played the role, he wouldn't want to be seen as the black James Bond. Unfortunately, Elba may not have control over how audiences see him...especially overseas. The UK might overlook it but I think many people would zero in on that one facet of the casting if such a role came about in the future.