Idris Elba opens up about about fatherhood ‘I’m super doting as a dad’
Idris Elba, the newly minted Sexist Man Alive, may be a heartthrob to women all over the world, but it’s his two children who have caught his heart.
—People magazine names Idris Elba 2018’s Sexiest Man Alive—
“Just watching that whole process come to life,” Elba says in this week’s issue of PEOPLE. “Being witness to the birth of my children, happy and healthy, is the biggest, biggest, most best thing ever.”
Elba is dad to daughter Isan, 16, and son Winston, 4, and just like most parents, the handsome actor said he has embarrassed his kids.
“Plenty of times,” Elba says, laughing. “But I tend to be conscious of my daughter’s space. I’m super doting as a dad. Big hugs, kisses, lots of love-yous and all of that. I’m sure my daughter’s like, ‘All right dad, chill out.’ My son, he gets it. But he’s still at that age where he loves a cuddle.”
When it comes to his kids, though, Elba says they are his opposite and pretty reserved.
“My children are extremely shy and I’m quite shy in reality,” he says. “Both my children overthink everything. Sabrina and I have a joke, ‘What’s the backstory?’ Because I’m always asking. ‘There’s no backstory. The pizza’s late.’ ‘But why? What’s he doing?’ And my children share that trait. We just over-analyze.”
For Elba it’s family first. He said “around 8 o’clock in the evening” is primetime for him and his fiancee Sabrina Dhowre to connect with their family.
“Not quite bedtime, just had dinner,” he adds. “I usually go to bed at 1 o’clock, so I’ll watch movies, make music, catch up with them. It’s a nice quiet time.”
And it looks like Elba is on the prowl for another big film role,
According to reports, the actor is in talks to star in the film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s hit musical, Cats.
Tons of stars have already signed on to the movie that will be directed by Tom Hooper,including Jennifer Hudson, James Corden, Taylor Swift, and Ian McKellan.
The film is slated to hit theaters on December 20, 2019.
He’s also starring in Netflix’s upcoming series,Turn Up Charlie.The comedy series will center on Elba as a struggling DJ who becomes a male nanny or “Manny” to help his best friend with her problematic kid.
He has also been working on a story based on his own childhood in a UK-produced comedy called In the Long Run.
The project follows the life of Walter, who works in a local factory alongside friend and neighbor Bagpipes, who is played by British comedian Bill Bailey. The ensemble cast also includes veteran Black UK actors Jimmy Akingbola of the CW’s Arrow, and Madeline Appiah.
The actor is still holding down his post as star and executive producer of the BBC hit Luther. Idris Elba is also working on his adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame for Netflix.
