Thursday, September 6, 2012

Idris Elba Appreciation

By s. Thursday, September 6, 2012
Idrissa Akuna Elba
September 6, 1972 in Hackney, London, England, UK

"Wherever I go the real hard-core drug dealers come up to me and confide in me. I almost feel guilty turning around and saying: 'Ello, mate. My name's Idris and I'm from London.' I don't want to break the illusion."
- On why he uses his American accent when talking to fans of The Wire.

Ah, happy day. Today is the 40th birthday of a man so gorgeous I watched Prom Night and Unborn for him and so talented I nearly cried in the ending of The Wire, season 3. Golden Globe winner, Emmy nominee, actor, DJ and hotness personified - Idris Elba.

What I like about the choices he makes is that as I go through his films I have no idea what I will see - he was a cop, a gangster, Michael Scott's boss, painter romancing Laura Linney, a guy married to Beyonce who has to deal with crazy obsessed coworker and get that - an exorcism performing priest AND a Nordic god. Woah. I still haven't seen Ghost Rider 2. I only have wine over here, but if I get my hands on vodka, there finally will be enough liquor for me to endure that one.

Another thing worth mentioning is his accent in The Wire - I saw this one first and then Luther and I had no idea he was British. He was so good in The Wire pretending to be American during first few episodes of Luther his accent actually sounded odd to me.

Elba, an only child, was born Idrissa Akuna Elba, and shortened his first name at school in Canning Town, where he first became involved in acting. His father is Sierra Leonean and his mother is Ghanaian. Elba grew up in East Ham, and began helping an uncle with his wedding-DJ business in 1986, and within a year he had started his own DJ company with some friends. Elba left school in 1988 and won a place in the National Youth Music Theatre—thanks to a £1,500 Prince’s Trust grant – but then ended up having to do everything from tire-fitting to cold-call advertising sales to pay the rent between roles in Crimewatch murder reconstructions. Elba was working in nightclubs under the DJ nickname Big Driis in 1991, but began auditioning for television parts in his early twenties. After a stint in the National Youth Music Theatre, Elba worked the night shift at a Ford factory in Dagenham, London in 1989 and '90. He started his acting career while in high school with encouragement from his drama teacher.  (imdb.com)

He is obviously most well known for playing Stringer Bell in The Wire (Fuck you, Omar) but for me the best of the best is his portrayal of John Luther, troubled and tough detective in Luther, the role which brought him Golden Globe and has yet to bring him an Emmy (fingers crossed!). This year he appeared in Prometheus where he was romancing Charlize Theron and became my favorite space cowboy ever and next year we will see him in another big sci fi movie - Pacific Rim, directed by Guillermo Del Toro. He is currently filming Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom where he will star as Nelson Mandela and he is going to reprise his role of Heimdall in the sequel to Thor.
Favorite films + TV series:
The Wire
Luther
Prometheus
Thor
Rockn'n'Rolla

Favorite performances:
Luther
The Wire
Prometheus
The Big C
Rock'n'Rolla

Favorite scenes:
  • Every single moment from Luther could be my number 1 but the bridge scene with Alice from the first episode is clearly the highlight.That is also my first choice in next category.
  • The scene where Stringer tells Avon that he has taken a life too from The Wire
  • "That's good. That's like a 40-degree day. Ain't nobody got nothing to say about a 40-degree day. Fifty. Bring a smile to your face. Sixty, shit, niggas is damn near barbecuing on that motherfucker. Go down to 20, niggas get their bitch on. Get their blood complaining. But forty? Nobody give a fuck about 40. Nobody remember 40, and y'all niggas is giving me way too many 40-degree days! What the fuck?" from The Wire
  • The whole apple situation from Luther 2x01 where he eats an apple in front of Alice and then throws it over the fence, allowing her to escape.
  •  The ending of Luther 1x05 while Sia's Breathe Me played in the background.
5 hottest scenes:
  • Him debating what to do when Alice gave him those three choices in Luther 1x01. Pretty much every single scene they share though - if the chemistry between them was a bomb and that bomb exploded the universe would end.
  • I'm torn between the scene from The Big C in the pit and the one where he explains what bukkake means. Good God.
  • I'm an XL from The Wire
  • If you wanted to get laid...all you had to do is say so from Prometheus 
  • Him wearing that tuxedo in The Wire 3x04. That's all I need.
3 things I'm waiting for
  • The sex scene with him and Theron from Prometheus. Why did they thought it's a good idea to cut this thing out of movie is beyond me. Especially since it was in 3D. I mean...seriously, what the fuck?
  • Pacific Rim trailer. Where is it?!
  • Luther season 3 - hopefully Alice will return. I do not like that new girl.
A bunch of stuff I need to post:

RELATED POSTS:

32 comments:

  1. "I am aware of the effect I have on women." <-- best thing ever :)

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    1. That man is ruining lives, that's how hot he is :)

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  2. Not afraid to admit that I have a man-crush on this dude. He just reeks of cool and is so damn good in everything he's in. I really wish he was Django in Django Unchained but I can't wait for Pacific Rim.

    Luther is incredible, everyone needs to watch it.

    The End. Elba Rules.

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    1. Oh God, he would be so much better than Jaime Foxxx!

      Glad you like Luther!

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  3. Looking through his resume on IMDB, there's not much I've seen of his work. Interview clips on Youtube does show he has the charisma to be a leading man. Just needs a real breakthrough role.

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    1. I think he will do wonders playing Mandela :)

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  4. You hadn't done one of these posts already? haha
    Man, I want to watch the Wire so bad! I've only seen one episode in a class for uni (and I wasn't sure what was happening because it was a season 3 episode) but I really, really liked it! Need to watch from the start!

    Totally forgot that was him in Thor! And I plan to watch the '28' films soon :)

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    1. No, though for me every day is Idris Elba Appreciation day :)

      You should definetly watch it, it's an incredible series and he is amazing in it.

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    2. There are these advertisements running on some trams in Melbourne right now, and I swear it's Idris Elba. Will have to have a closer look, they always go by me too fast.

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    3. Oh God. I'd throw myself on one :)

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  5. Oh god I am missing Luther... curse you Elba and your success!!

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    1. Me too, but I'm happy for all the films with him :)

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  6. Well this is a way to start off a morning! Thank you.. I mean, thank you! Plus, now I feel guilty I left Luther out of my Top 10 male characters list. Damn. Damn. Damn.

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    1. You're very welcome :) Yeah, I was wondering when I saw your list whether you saw Luther :)

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  7. I knew today's Idris' birthday and was hoping you'd do one of your excellent appreciation post! He's so gorgeous and man that VOICE! The pairing of Idris and Gerry Butler is a dream in Rocknrolla, I wish those two would team up again. Great posts Sati, I adore the photos and that GIF with the red head, wooo weee... [fan self] That's from The Wire, right?

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    1. How could I not? :) He is so hot, it's ridiculous. I really hope for Rocknrolla sequel one day.

      The red head is Alice in Luther, you should check out that series it's amazing!

      In The Wire he only had one "love" interest though it made for some steamy scenes :)

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    2. "I really hope for Rocknrolla sequel one day" Well high five, Sati! Sadly, the movie didn't make any money so I doubt that'll happen. Bummer!!

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    3. I wish I was rich, I'd give them the money :)

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    4. Ahah, I know Sati. We both should make a petition and do a fundraising for a Rocknrolla sequel!! Even if it only stars Gerry Butler and Idris Elba, I don't care about the rest, ha..ha..

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    5. I think this would actually work :) Of course for me Elba could be reading a phonebook and I'd be ecstatic ^^

      But with Hardy and Elba being more and more famous with each year I hope if they show interest in it, the studio will give them money. The only question is if anyone is working on the script.

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  8. How did I guess that you'd post something like this today ;)

    Because of your unadulterated passion for Elba, I'm going to start Luther tonight. Never seen it. So pumped!

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    1. Not too surprising, isn't it?:)

      This is so awesome! Hope you'll like it!

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  9. Holy Hotness, Batman -- he really is gorgeous, isn't he? I must admit, when I opened this post, this was the first thing I noticed. :-D Hard to miss, eh? I don't think I've seen him in anything yet.

    "What's a black actor?" I love that. I love it when people refuse to be wedged into a box.

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    1. He is, I saw him on The Wire and that was it. A guy like that in a suit and with a stare that could kill? I'm in :)

      You should totally see Prometheus, Luther and The Wire - great stuff and he was amazing in it ^^

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  10. This post has been a long time coming. ;)

    I'm going to dig in to Sherlock soon, but I might just start Luther after that.

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    1. I have a feeling you will love it :) Sherlock is great but Luther is fantastic too, they are quite similiar in certain aspects, I guess every troubled and brilliant detective is remiscent of Holmes :)

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  11. Ah, here's a guy you love other than Fassy ;) I don't know much from Idris Alba except on Prometheus. I do now know from your post that he's in Luther. Excellent post as usual, Sati!

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    1. Thank you! Can't wait to rewatch Prometheus :)

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  12. The effect on women line is from The Office (US), right? That showed justhow versatile this guy is. Love him!

    Cannot wait for Luther 3!

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    1. Yep, that's the one! It was so odd he was in it, I'd love to hear the story on how he end up on something so different from the stuff he does like The Office :)

      Glad you are a fellow Luther fan!

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  13. Awesome spotlight, Sati! Idris is the man, no doubt about it. I still need to see Luther, but he will always be Stringer Bell to me.

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    1. Thank you! Stringer is amazing, I miss him so much in season 4 and 5 :(

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