Idris Elba, a Hollywood actor, recently spoke to Collette Prince of Arena Holding‘s Spotlight about his latest movie and why he‘s often visiting South Africa. He stated that it has been less than a month since he was last in Mzansi and that he believes the country has some of the greatest creatives on the continent.
“Creative teams in South Africa are probably the best on the continent right now. So, yeah… respect,” said Idris.
Idris Elba stars as London detective John Luther in the stand–alone movie adaptation of the TV series Luther: The Fallen Sun. In the film, Luther takes on a case that could spell his downfall. Elba has spoken about the preparation he underwent to play the role of Luther in this movie.
“I’m a producer on this film and my preparation is different from my preparation as an actor. As an actor I just roll up my sleeves and get into it. I know the character, I’ve been playing him for a long time. But as a producer, there were these touchdowns that were new skill sets for me. Just being part of the think-tank of what makes this better… why we are spending this money and time to go to a bigger screen. That was about understanding the story on a [different] level”
Jamie Payne has directed the film, while Neil Cross, the creator of the show, has written the screenplay. Idris, the producer, had to learn and acquire new skills, one of which was scuba diving. He proudly boasts that he can now hold his breath for four minutes.
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