The Idris Elba Effect
October 16, 2021 2:28 AM   Subscribe

The coolest man on the planet won’t be shaken from his master plan. But after a bruising 18 months, the multitalented Englishman, who acts, deejays, and podcasts, and this month stars in the all-Black Western, The Harder They Fall, wants to clear up a few things. [Esquire/Pandemic related/]
posted by ellieBOA (16 comments total) 9 users marked this as a favorite
 
I would think that most people stuck in quarantine for 10 days would end up binge watching shows, reading books, or making lots of long phone calls but Elba decides to make some music and video that may never see the light of day out of the sheer love of creating things and trying shit out.

That 457 Esquire covers thing was an exaggeration right?
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 6:48 AM on October 16, 2021


Any portmandeau is a storm I wondered the same thing... Idris Elba is an interesting person to write about and I enjoyed some of the authors asides but this article really meanders and could have used a stronger edit.
posted by subdee at 6:57 AM on October 16, 2021 [1 favorite]


"That 457 Esquire covers thing was an exaggeration right?"

He would have had to have been on every cover since he was 10 years old, soooooooo...
posted by jonathanhughes at 10:01 AM on October 16, 2021


One of my pandemic binges was the first few seasons of the BBC forensics show Silent Witness (after Amanda Burton leaves in the 6th season it goes to shit but inexplicably continues for another 20 seasons). Elba was in a very early episode, one of his first ever performances. It was amazing to see how good he already was in his early 20s. He was one of the only decent human beings in a story full of mostly bad people, and it was fabulous. (Benedict Cumberbatch also has an early Silent Witness credit where he is a very creepy dude.)
posted by hydropsyche at 10:20 AM on October 16, 2021


The Wikipedia entry for esquire says it has “more than” twenty international editions, so if you count each edition as different, maybe Elba could have wracked up 23.75 covers?
posted by The River Ivel at 11:29 AM on October 16, 2021


Nothing against Daniel Craig or any of the actors who’ve played Bond since Connery but he’s the only actor I’d go to a theater to see as 007.
posted by tommasz at 12:33 PM on October 16, 2021 [7 favorites]


"The harder they fall, the harder I come", as the mad genius J. G. Thirlwell / Foetus used to sing.
posted by Termite at 12:59 PM on October 16, 2021 [1 favorite]


This, believe it or not, is his 475th appearance on the cover of Esquire.

Maybe they're counting times his name appeared on the cover, not just his photo?

I like that his take on the Bond thing seems to be, "Hey I have my own character that can do anything that Bond can do, why would I bother?"
posted by doift at 2:02 PM on October 16, 2021 [2 favorites]


I saw him, just last evening in Ridley Scott's, Prometheus. He has great gravity and style. In fact, he added almost the entire, human element, to the film.
posted by Oyéah at 5:02 PM on October 16, 2021


Can't wait to see what he brings to the role of Knuckles the Echidna.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 7:09 PM on October 16, 2021 [2 favorites]


If you haven't seen him in Beasts of No Nation - highly recommended. Not an easy watch but he's truly brilliant and deserved an Oscar nomination for that one.
posted by gohabsgo at 5:11 AM on October 17, 2021 [1 favorite]


Luther is bloody good television too.
posted by flabdablet at 5:29 AM on October 17, 2021 [1 favorite]


Able was I ere I saw Idris Elba.
posted by kirkaracha at 7:45 PM on October 17, 2021 [3 favorites]


Nothing against Daniel Craig or any of the actors who’ve played Bond since Connery but he’s the only actor I’d go to a theater to see as 007.

I love Idris Elba, and he could've been a fine Bond if they'd gone with him instead of Craig, but he's too old to start playing Bond. He's 49 and a big part of the reason Craig is stepping down at 53 is the physical demands of the role are tough in your '50s.
posted by kirkaracha at 7:48 PM on October 17, 2021 [1 favorite]


I am so excited for his new movie I almost lost an eye after throwing my phone in the air after watching the trailer
posted by Hermione Granger at 4:30 AM on October 18, 2021


First thing I saw him in was Ultraviolet (1998) which is a pretty cool short series about vampires. Worth checking out.
posted by freecellwizard at 3:01 PM on October 20, 2021


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