Idris Elba (2014)

Yes, if it was offered to me, absolutely.

The truth is I had been living in America by 3-4 years by the time I got The Wire, so my ear is pretty good at picking up accents and I'm a bit of a mimic, so it was a combination of living in the country and picking up an East Coast accent for Stringer. So the short answer is: it took me 4 years, but in honesty I cheated because I was living in America.

Ahahaha. Well, that's absolute news to me, I haven't heard of it before. It sounds quite incredible. And...yeah, yeah I will ask him.

Uh...haven't you heard? I cancelled it once. When I cancel it, it stays cancelled.

I find villains way more compellin' to unearth their psyche. Writers love writing for villains because they can get a lot more off their chest, and it just means a lot more stuff for the actor to do. But good guys are also a challenge, because if you don't get the balance between being real and being, you know, a stereotypically good guy, your character can come across as corny. So each has its challenges, but I think being a bad guy has more.

Ehmm- I really like it when fans just say "Hey man, I'm just - nice to meet you, you know. this is who I am" a lot of fans don't say hello, or just forget the ordinary common niceties. They just go straight to "can I take a picture" and sometimes that's, it's nice to be spoken to, not spoken at.

Uh - no.

What is my favourite classic animated movie...dudududu... what is my favourite... that's a good question. At the risk of sounding corny, I think it is The Jungle Book. And it's not animated, but it fits in that world, Mary Poppins. I loved Mary Poppins. Classic, man, just classic! The songs, the animation, amazin'.

I honestly am not sure where they would be in 10 years. I think Luther would probably be professor of criminology, and Alice will be in jail. But that's just guessing, I dunno.

I never know the real differences, apart from cultural differences. The film crews are pretty much the same around the world, except for the culture. The process is really the same. The Office was a unique experience, because I don't get to do comedy much, and Steve Carrell and the guys were so funny. Such a different way of working, because we were joking and pissing around all the time. However, somehow we managed to pull together a few episodes. I enjoyed it, but it's not really different than shooting anything else.

Hello Toni. Please don't lose it!

We are in talks at the moment to figure out a way to bring more Luther back to the TV, but the focus is to try and make a film from it.

Rocknrolla was wicked. It was a lot of laughs. All the actors - me and Gerry Butler became really good friends from that film, and Tom Hardy. Guy Ritchie is a genius, and it was just like making a film with your college mates.

I wanna play... I thought it'd be really cool to play Hancock.

Yeah, I would love to play sort of a ... you know, sort of that human being that actually has superhero powers, like Hancock and like Luke Cage.

Yeah - Nic Cage came back one day on set, and he came down to set and he looked a little bit tired, a little bit - kind of like he'd ben up all night. So I was like "hey Nic man, how you doing man" and he said "i'm alright' and I said "You seem a little spoked out" and he said "Yeah man, I went up to Dracula's castle...the ruins up in the mountains, and I stayed the night" and i said "What?! Why|?" and he said "I just had to channel the energy, and it was pretty spooky up there." We were shooting in Romania, Transylvania, and he just went up there to spend the night, as you do.

And then he walked away.

True story.

Hahahahahaa! Oh man, how do you answer that? am I really cool? Thank you for saying that. My dad was cool, man. My dad was cool.

Actually, I think it's sort of like ... yeah, I'm having a 40 degree, yes. In short, yes, I'm having a 40 degree week-end.

Hahhaaha. Hahaha. I think that, you know, I'd like to be a director one day, and I think that's given to entice me to one actor or another is his range. I enjoy watching an actor transform themselves each time. People like Daniel Day-Lewis, Fassbender, Denzel, they reinvent themselves, and I think what's happened during my career in the last 3 years is that I've done so many types of roles, and I think directors are going "Hey man, this guy has range" (hopefully). So I think that's the answer, I think.

Yeah, that was one of the pinnacles of my career, it was the first time I ever directed myself in a film. And I loved it. We had a really small crew, not much of a budget, and we all drove down to this beautiful part of the world in Wales, and we stayed in this little B&B. And we shot this video in the hills and on the beach. It's a very - not weird - story, a story of a blind man that decides to run as fast as he can without seeing where he was going. Thank you for asking me that one, because that is one of my proudest pieces of work.

1) I don't know why we didn't really mention The Wire. I guess, although I was in The Wire, I didn't think it was quite relevant to the underground scene specifically for cars and motor racing, but the truth is I don't know why we didn't mention The Wire. I love Baltimore, I had 3 great years there, it was sort of a really, the beginning of my American career. I haven't been back there for quite a while, but anytime I go there, I get a lot of love, a lot of people miss the show and give me a lot of, you know, support for my career, Baltimore is a great place.

2) I've been a fan of Arsenal since I was about... fifteen, I guess? I lived really close to West Ham Football Grounds, but West Ham... they had really violent fans that didn't like black people. So I went to Arsenal, who had a great time, and didn't have racist fans at that time. And...I'm sad that you're a city fan, sorry mate, but you honestly don't want to touch it with Fifa. I'm a don.

Uhmm.... bumdudmdumdumdumdumbumpa. Funniest practical joke on a set? Let me think about this... I think I was doin', a long time ago, I was doing Ultraviolet, and there's a scene in a morgue, and I remember there was a few extras playing the dead people but somehow we weren't told that, we thought they were dummies, and I think one of them sprung up on us, and I shit my pants, not gonna lie, because I thought it was a dummy ! But it was a real life person.

Yes, it took very long. And yes, it was super-cozy. Um..I hate it! OH don't say it. Wait! Do say it!

Don't you mean Wallace?

Well, firstly, they call them secondary school in England. And I haven't been to a secondary school reunion. However, some of my friends that i still kick it with now were at my secondary school, so whenever we get together, it's a bit like a reunion.

I think it's an incredible film. I think that the finished product was, you know, full of all the promises it had promised. I suspect the story was a little dense in places for some members of the audience, but didn't let them take away from its sort of ambition and achievement. Ridley Scott is an incredible director.

My mum and dad. You have to ask my mum and dad about the first question, because I took their genes and became me. But thanks for the compliment. My favourite colour is green.

My favourite animal is a dog. I'm allergic to dogs, but I love dogs. But my second favourite animal is a lion.

Uh, I think there's an actor already signed on for it, fortunately or unfortunately.

Well, Mumford and Sons asked me to be in a video for them. They didn't want to be in the video, they were all big fans of The Wire, and I said "yes but only if I can direct it" - they huddled together, shook their heads, and said "Okay then." and the rest is history.

Yeah, it was kind of like being allowed into a club that you'd been standing outside of for a very long time being told your name wasn't on the list.

Mmm... I think Goodfellas.

Duck-sized kaijus. I could kick 'em.

My favourite breakfast?

Steak and eggs. Eggs over medium. With some hot sauce on the side. Maybe a waffle or some brown toast. And some spinach. And then... if i can't get that, then I'll get scrambled eggs and salmon with some avocado.

My favourite scene is when I tell Avon that I killed D'Angelo. That was the scene yeah. It was a very Shakespearean Scene. And Avon and Stringer end up on the floor. It's actually the scene that sealed Stringer Bell's fate, although he didn't know it. I remember Wood and I, we sat in a trailer - and discussed what we were going to do pretty much all day. And ended up going in on set. It was incredible.

Breaking Bad is ingenious. Amazin' writing, amazin' character studies, performances are off the chain, some of the best performances in television. Just a really interestin' slow burn of a dramer. That's what dramer is.

No, actually, there wasn't a culture shock because as I said before in my answer, I'd live in America a long time prior to doing The Wire. And the truth is no one on the cast knew I was english. I spoke in an American accent the whole time. A lot of the actors who weren't there every day didn't know. Stringer would come in and come out, and a lot of people didn't know I was English because they didn't hear me speak .

FIFA. And now UFC. Both of them.

UFC.

My favourite movie is... none of you have seen a film called The Champ. I loved the Champ. One of my favourite movies. Faye Dunaway and John Voight.

My favourite tee-vee show, actually I was a massive fan of the original Office, The English Office. I just found that hilarious. And when I was asked to be in the American Office, it was such a big coup for me man, I was really excited to be a part of that, because I'm a big fan of the English office. I wish Ricky does a comeback for the English office and my character comes into it, that'd be great. I'd love that.

I'm using Serato with CDJ Nexus 900s. Yeah. That's it.

I kind of felt like that I've been there and done it, to be honest. If it was a prequel, yes, but the sequel it'd be impossible unless I came back as the alien.

Well, my relationship - unfortunately I didn't have a real relationship with him. But I was in awe of the man before, and even more so after. I learnt so much about him that it became more than just a respect for what he had done, you know? I just... I was floored, and I was in - what's the word - inspired by him, the principles that i learnt from him that i still carry with me to this day, and he remains to be a guiding light for me, you know. I always think "What might Mandela do right now," always.

I think juicin' fruits and vegetables is incredible. It's very good, a good way to nourish your body, especially if you're like me, you work a lot of hours, need a lot of replenishment. I don't juice as much as I want to, but when I'm home in a stable place, I like to juice.

Well, it's a hard question because in our film, the film we did together, there were varying levels of experience, some actors had never been in a film before, and there were some actors that hadn't, were a bit more experienced, so with the actors that hadn't been, you know, done it before, he was very hands on, asking them for the truth. He speaks a lot about logic. Just because you're on camera, he doesn't want you to make up an expression or fake an emotion, he wants you to think bout it would actually be like to be in that position. With more experienced actors, me especially, he just allowed me to be me and go for it. He wants as much variation, so that when he goes into the edit room, he can do with it what he wants. He expects you as an actor to know what you want to do, and to know your words, know your world, I found him a dream to work with because I hardly noticed he was there, to be honest, and it just allowed me to really take over my character. He was an amazin' director. He works really hard, he knows everything about filmmaking, and he expects his crew to do that too.

Yeah, I love voice actin.' I think it's a really interestin' way to use an actor. I do a lot of voice-overs, whether it's acting or commercials, stuff like that, and I really enjoy it.

Yes, I still DJ. I Just finished a season in Ibiza. And it's one of my passions in life.

Uh - I want to say Moe's Seafood Spot, there's a seafood spot called Moe's. I didn't hang out there, I just ate there, a lot.

I actually like the genre, to watch. It's a guilty pleasure. My daughter loves those movies, and we like to watch them together, just so we can frighten each other in certain places. It would be interesting to me to be in one again, not for any particular reason, apart from that I just like to do really varied work.

I will work with Chris Nolan one day.

Mmm...my favourite sports car... my 3-wheeler scooter that I like to rock.

My favourite food is...chicken. And my name Idris - I was actually born Idrissa, and in Sierra Leone it means - it's like "First born son."

Muy thai.

Yeah, I don't know much about Pacific Rim 2. I hear they are making one, and I don't know if my character will be in it, since my character died in the first one.

Favourite ice cream flavour is... rum and raisin!