Idris Elba, Star Of 'Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom' On The Challenges Of Fame And His Latest Part
This week sees the release of Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, starring Idris Elba as the South African leader. Elba’s star has been steadily rising since he played DCI John Luther in the eponymous crime series, with key parts in both Thor movies, as well as 2012’s Prometheus and this year’s Pacific Rim. While we’ve seen him mostly in fantasy and sci-fi recently, it is in this Mandela biopic that Elba will truly come into his own, on the big screen at least.
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Despite his consistent rise to fame, however, Elba knows how to stay grounded (rather literally), as he explains for USA Today: "I hug trees. I've got a tree tattooed on my arm. My daughter (Isan, 11) and I, every New Year's if we're together, we go out at the stroke of midnight and we go sit by a tree and have a picnic and chat. It's really good for highlighting that that was then and this is now."
It seems to be working, as Elba sounds remarkably modest throughout the interview, especially when discussing the topic of fame. "I was just sitting with Oprah Winfrey, who has been a landmark, a pinnacle for success. If you sit with Oprah Winfrey, you've made it," he says. "My mum believes that. It's been surreal to have this attention thrown at me. It's a massive honor."
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Even with so much public recognition, taking on an icon like Nelson Mandela was a daunting task for the actor. Not just emotionally, but physically, the part presented a challenge. As Elba explains in the interview: “I had a lot of reservations about it. Whoever plays Mandela has to do such a great job. He's a real man. It's a lot of responsibility — he's a living legend. And I don't look like him. What are you saying, that all black people look the same?”
His co-star, Naomie Harris, who plays Mandela’s wife Winnie in the film, disagrees. "By the end of the movie, he really does look like him. He totally captured him. I went to the apartheid museum and I was like, 'Wow, he got him.' There's a connection there. He really managed to capture his essence and tune into him and transmit him."
Earlier in November, Long Walk to Freedom was screened at a private event for Nelson Mandela himself, who reportedly enjoyed the retelling of his own story. Whether moviegoers will share that opinion remains to be seen when the film premieres across the US on November 29.