Idris Elba: Life, career and cultural impact
Everything you need to know about Idris Elba's diverse and unique entertainment career, from his musical theater beginnings and award-winning roles to his many surprising side hustles.
British actor Idris Elba has soared to impressive heights with a versatile career that has gone well beyond the big and small screen. While he’s had a notable run on television and film, he’s also made a mark in music, trained as a kickboxer and even been appointed as an anti-crime ambassador in the U.K.
His rise to global fame has been many years in the making. In this article, we cover everything you need to know about Idris Elba’s diverse and unique entertainment career, from his musical theater beginnings to his award-winning roles to his many surprising side hustles.
Early life and background
As a precocious kid growing up in London, Elba was already showing the first glimmers of the many talents that would go on to define his career.
Birth and childhood
Elba was born Idrissa Akuna Elba on September 6, 1972, in Hackney, a borough of London. His father, Winston, came from Sierra Leone and his mother, Eve, from Ghana. The couple married in Sierra Leone before moving to London.
Elba shortened his name to Idris while in school when he began taking his first steps in acting. At the same time, he was also learning how to DJ from his uncle, who performed at weddings. By the age of 15, Elba had already founded his own DJ company with a group of friends.
Education and early interests
The budding actor attended school in Canning Town in East London. One day, he saw an ad in the British newspaper, The Stage, for an upcoming play and decided to audition. He got the part and ended up meeting his first agent while performing the role.
Elba later attended Barking and Dagenham College, which he eventually left to join the National Youth Music Theatre, a U.K.-based arts organization that trains young people for musical theater. To support himself, Elba worked a variety of odd jobs, including cold calling and manufacturing, and also continued to DJ at nightclubs under the moniker Big Driis.
Career in television
Moving his way up from musical theater, Elba soon established his name as an actor with a series of recurring TV roles in both the U.K. and the U.S.
Breakthrough roles
When Elba was in his twenties, he began landing small parts on television shows. He did murder re-enactments on “Crimewatch,” made an appearance on British sitcom “Absolutely Fabulous” and played a petty thief on medical drama “Bramwell.”
Following those minor gigs, Elba started to land recurring roles on a slew of British TV shows, including: “The Governor,” “The Bill,” “The Ruth Rendell Mysteries,” “Family Affairs,” “Insiders” and “Dangerfield.” It was then that the budding actor decided to take his talents to New York City in search of different opportunities.
Notable TV shows
Having crossed the pond, Elba began expanding his resume to include American TV shows — a move that brought his fame to greater heights. A brief appearance on “Law & Order” helped Elba land his first breakthrough role as drug kingpin Russell “Stringer” Bell on the critically acclaimed HBO drama “The Wire.”
Elba showed off his range with a stint on the NBC comedy “The Office” (the American version), where he played a rival to Steve Carell’s character. He also returned to England to star in the BBC series “Luther” — for which he won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Series, Mini-Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television — and appear in the British anthology series “Playhouse Presents,” as well as “Guerrilla,” which he also executive produced.
Later, Elba would create and star in the loosely autobiographical series “In the Long Run,” which was based on his own childhood in East London. The deeply personal project lasted three seasons, for a total of 19 episodes, and earned praise from British news outlets.
Film career
Already a recognizable TV star, Elba turned to film to further demonstrate the full range of his talents, proving himself to be an actor who can handle any genre — from comedy to drama to horror.
Notable film roles
As his TV credits mounted, Elba began venturing into film. In 2007 alone, he starred in the romantic comedy “Daddy’s Little Girls,” horror sequel “28 Weeks Later” and holiday drama “This Christmas.”
He would cement his place in the horror genre with starring roles in 2008’s “Prom Night,” 2009’s “The Unborn” and 2009’s “Obsessed.” He also branched out into thrillers with 2010 films “Legacy” and “Takers,” as well as superhero movies like 2010’s “The Losers” and 2011’s “Thor.”
Highest-rated movies
After the commercial success of “This Christmas” and “Obsessed,” Elba began landing more critically acclaimed roles. In 2012, he starred as Nelson Mandela in “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom,” which secured him a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. Later, he earned Golden Globe and BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) nominations for portraying Abraham Attah in the 2015 Netflix war drama “Beasts of No Nation.”
Elba also continued to take on roles in summer blockbusters like 2015’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” and kid flicks including “Zootopia,” “The Jungle Book” and “Finding Dory,” all from 2016.
Music career
As if all that acting wasn’t enough, Elba has also found the time to keep up an active music career as a DJ, rapper and collaborator.
Early musical endeavors
While establishing his acting career, Elba returned to the musical interests he first pursued as a teenage DJ in London. His first EP, “Big Man,” was released in 2006 by Hevlar Records. The following year, Elba appeared on Jay-Z’s album “American Gangster” and served as DJ at the NBA All-Star parties.
Collaborations and releases
Elba has continued to release solo EPs, including 2009’s “Kings Among Kings” and 2010’s “High Class Problems Vol. 1.”
But he’s also been an in-demand collaborator, working on a variety of other projects, such as Pharoahe Monch’s 2011 album W.A.R., Skepta’s 2015 remix of “Shutdown” and Wiley’s 2019 track “Boasty.” He’s even launched his own record label, 7Wallace Music, and performed at the 2019 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
Achievements and awards
Naturally, Elba’s talents have been recognized by an array of awards committees in his native England and beyond.
Major awards and nominations
Over the course of his varied and illustrious career, Elba has earned so many accolades we couldn’t possibly list them all. Some of his biggest wins include a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie for “Luther,” a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in “Beasts of No Nation” and a BET Award for Best Actor in “The Losers.”
Elba has also been appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his contributions to the arts and collected a few flattering titles for his famed good looks, including being named Sexiest Man of the Year by “Essence” in 2013 and Sexiest Man Alive by “People” in 2018.
Recent Emmy nominations
Shockingly, Elba has never received a Primetime Emmy Award, but he has been nominated several times, most recently in 2024 for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Apple TV’s “Hijack.” Previously, he received four nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie during his time on “Luther,” and earned a nod for his role on “The Big C.”
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Involvement in kickboxing
Not content to stop at acting, singing, DJing and rapping, Elba has continued to develop new skill sets beyond the arts.
The multi-talent has even tried his hand at kickboxing. In 2017, Discovery Channel released a documentary called “Idris Elba: Fighter,” which follows his journey training for a year under Muay Thai coach Kieran Keddle.
At the end of the training period, Elba participated in his first professional kickboxing fight against Dutch kickboxer Lionel Graves. The result? He won by technical knockout after just one round.
Personal Life
Beyond his creative and physical endeavors, Elba leads a busy life with his wife and kids and campaigns to help make the lives of others safer and more secure.
Relationships and family
The one-time Sexiest Man Alive has tied the knot a total of three times. From 1999 to 2003, he was married to Hanne “Kim” Nørgaard, with whom he had a daughter. In 2006, Elba was briefly married to Sonya Nicole Hamlin. He is currently married to Canadian model Sabrina Dhowre, with whom he tied the knot in 2019.
In addition to his daughter with Nørgaard, Elba also has a son with former girlfriend Naiyana Garth.
Philanthropic efforts
On top of his many achievements, Elba has donated his time to various causes over the course of his career. Some of these include working with the U.K. parliament to help eradicate Ebola in West Africa, addressing the lack of diversity onscreen and campaigning against knife crime.
He even established the Elba Hope Foundation in an effort to restrict online knife sales and promote other regulations on dangerous weapons. In 2009, Elba was appointed anti-crime ambassador for The Prince’s Trust, a U.K. charity founded by Prince Charles.
Cultural impact
After years of building up a reputation as a multifaceted talent, Elba uses his platform to celebrate other artists and campaign for better representation across the arts.
Influence in entertainment
Elba has been recognized for his notable influence on English culture by both “Time Out” magazine and “Powerlist,” which named him one of the most influential people in the U.K. of African or Caribbean descent.
In the U.S., Elba has helped spread the love for British hip-hop, particularly for London-based rappers like Wiley. The actor has also used his musical acumen to uplift African artists like Nigerian singer D’banj and Sierra Leonean rapper Shadow Boxer. Furthering his investment in the region, Elba recently won permission from the Tanzanian government to set up a film studio in Zanzibar.
Representation and diversity
Elba continues to spread awareness in increasing the diversity of race, gender and sexuality in film and TV. But he’s done more than just talk about it: He’s also founded his own production company, Green Door Pictures, which aims to fund original content from Black creators. One pending project is an Afrofuturist adult animated series co-created by Elba and his wife Sabrina Dhowre.
Future projects and aspirations
Of course, Elba is far from resting on his laurels. The A-list actor and musician is always working on new projects.
Upcoming roles
Wondering where you can catch Idris Elba in the near future? He’s set to appear in the video game adaptation “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” in 2024, as well as the American animated comedy “Fixed,” action comedy “Heads of State” and survival thriller “Above the Below,” the latter of which Elba co-directed. He is also currently filming “The Greatest of All Time” for television.
Legacy in the industry
Today, Elba is considered not only one of the greatest actors of his generation, but also one of the most influential people in the world. His varied roles have earned him over $9.8 billion dollars from box offices around the globe, demonstrating that whether he’s drawing laughs in a comedy or tears in a drama, Elba always brings an irreplaceable appeal to his roles.
As he expands his resume to include titles like director, producer and record label head, he continues to have a large influence on the next generation of actors, singers, rappers, DJs and other creatives. We can only hope that Elba keeps appearing in front of the camera — and at the mic — too.
To learn more about the other actors defining this generation of Black talent, check out our roundups of the most influential Black actors over 50 and the up-and-coming Black actors changing the face of the film and TV industry.
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