Idris Elba talks new Mandela biopic on 'Morning Joe'

theGRIO REPORT - Actor Idris Elba joined Tuesday's Morning Joe on MSNBC to discuss the impact of Nelson Mandela's passing and his lead role in the new Mandela biopic Long Walk to Freedom.

Actor Idris Elba joined Rev. Al Sharpton, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski on Tuesday’s Morning Joe on MSNBC to discuss the impact of Nelson Mandela’s passing and his lead role in the new Mandela biopic Long Walk to Freedom.

“Honestly, the first thing that was really important to me was to go to South Africa and just understand South Africans,” Elba said about preparing for his portrayal of Mandela.

In preparing for his role, Elba spent a night on Robben Island, where the civil rights leader was imprisoned for 19 years of his 27 years in jail.

“I just needed to understand what it was like to be there for one night,” the actor said.

“It is a man, and it’s the cost of that man,” the film’s director Justin Chadwick said. “You know [Mandela’s] life is virtually a 100-year history of Apartheid. We wanted to study him as a father, as a husband…what he gave up makes his journey even more extraordinary.”

The civil rights icon and South African leader passed away last Thursday.

Elba and Chadwick were at the London premier of Long Walk to Freedom with Nelson Mandela’s daughters when they received the news.

Watch the clip above and let us know if you will be going to see the new biopic this holiday season in the comments below.

Follow Carrie Healey on Twitter @Carrieheals

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