Idris Elba reveals hilarious stories, interesting advice, and amazing acting tips in his recent Reddit AMA (ask me anything).
Idris Elba recently went to Reddit to help promote his new movie No Good Deed by answering questions from fans and users.
This AMA (Ask Me Anything) covered a ton of topics ranging from his favorite type of roles, how he is able to change his accent from British to American, and a really amazing story about Nic Cage from the set of Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengenance.
Here are the top stories from the recent Idris Elba AMA.
1. You seem to switch from playing good guys to playing bad guys with relative ease. Do you prefer playing the hero, or the villain?
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.
2. Idris, I am a HUGE fan of your work as Stringer Bell in The Wire. How long did it take you to perfect your “American” accent? My world was turned upside down when I found out that you were an Englishman and that is not your natural accent.
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.
3. How would you prefer fans to approach you when they see you in public?
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.
4. If possible to choose, what is your favourite scene from ‘The Wire’ that you were involved in?
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.
5. Hey Mr Elba!
Big fan! Love Luther and Prometheus! And i’m a secret fan of Ghost Rider… As you may know, the internets has a love affair with Nic Cage….
Do you have any funny stories from the set of Ghost Rider?
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.
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