Early life

Elba was born in London, England. His father, Winston, was a Sierra Leonean who worked in the Ford motor factory at Dagenham, and his mother, Eve, was a Ghanaian who had a clerical job. Elba's parents married in Sierra Leone and moved to London. Elba was raised in East Ham and shortened his first name from Idrissa to Idris at school in Canning Town, where he first became involved in acting. He credits The Stage with giving him his first big break; having seen an advertisement for a play in the newspaper, Elba auditioned and met his first agent while performing in the role. In 1986, he began helping an uncle with his wedding DJ business; within a year, he had started his own DJ company with some of his friends.

Elba left school in 1988 and won a place in the National Youth Music Theatre, thanks to a £1,500 Prince's Trust grant. His first roles were in Crimewatch murder reconstructions. To support himself between roles in Crimewatch reconstructions, he worked in jobs such as tyre-fitting, cold call advertising sales, and the night shift at Ford Dagenham. He was working in nightclubs, under the DJ nickname Big Driis, at the age of 19, but began auditioning for television roles in his early twenties.

Acting career

Television

In 1995, Elba landed his first significant role on a series called Bramwell, a medical drama set in 1890s England. He played a central character in an episode of Season 1, an African petty thief named Charlie Carter, who lost his white wife to childbirth and had to figure out how to support his newborn daughter. His first named role arrived earlier in 1995, cast as a gigolo on the "Sex" episode of Absolutely Fabulous. Many supporting roles on British television followed, including series such as The Bill and The Ruth Rendell Mysteries. He joined the cast of the soap opera Family Affairs and went on to appear in the television serial Ultraviolet and later in Dangerfield. He decided to move to New York City soon after. He returned to England occasionally for a television role, such as a part in one of the Inspector Lynley Mysteries. In 2001, Elba played Achilles in a stage production of Troilus and Cressida in New York City.

After a supporting turn on a 2001 episode of Law & Order, Elba landed a starring role on the 2002 HBO drama The Wire. From 2002 to 2004, Elba portrayed Russell "Stringer" Bell in the series, perhaps his best-known role in the US. In 2005, he portrayed Captain Augustin Muganza in Sometimes in April, an HBO film about the Rwandan Genocide. Elba appeared on the 2007 BET special Black Men: The Truth. He appeared as Charlie Gotso in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, filmed in Botswana. The series premiered on 23 March 2008, Easter Sunday, on BBC One, receiving a high 6.3 million viewers and 27% of the audience share.

In January 2009, it was reported per Variety that Elba would portray Charles Miner, a new rival to Dunder Mifflin regional manager Michael Scott (Steve Carell) for NBC's The Office. Elba appeared in a six episode story arc later in the 2009 season as well as the season finale. In September 2009, he signed a deal to star as the lead role in the six-part BBC television show Luther, which aired in May 2010. In October 2009, NBC announced Elba as executive producer of an as yet untitled legal drama. He appeared on Showtime's The Big C in 2010. At the 69th Golden Globe Awards telecast on 15 January 2012, Elba won the Award for Best Actor in a Series, Mini-Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television for his role on the BBC crime thriller series Luther.

Film

In 2007, Elba signed on as the lead of the 2007 film Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls, playing Monty, a blue-collar mechanic who falls in love with an attorney helping him gain custody of his kids, and finds the relationship and his custody hopes threatened by the return of his former wife. He appeared in 28 Weeks Later (2007) and This Christmas (2007), which brought in nearly $50 million at the box office in 2007. In 2008, he starred in the horror film Prom Night and the crime comedy RocknRolla. In 2009, he starred in the horror film The Unborn and in Obsessed, a thriller that had him cast opposite Beyoncé. The latter was a box office success, taking $29 million in its opening weekend.

Elba's next film was Legacy (2010), in which he portrayed a black ops soldier who returned to Brooklyn after a failed mission in Eastern Europe, where he undertook a journey looking for retribution. He starred in Dark Castle's adaptation of DC/Vertigo's The Losers, under the direction of Sylvain White, in the role of Roque, the second-in-command of a black-ops team out for revenge against a government that did them wrong. Filming took place in Puerto Rico and the movie was released in April 2010. Elba appeared in the 2010 thriller Takers. He played Heimdall in Kenneth Branagh's 2011 film Thor (based on the Marvel Comics superhero of the same name).

In August 2010, Elba signed up to portray the title character in a reboot of James Patterson's Alex Cross film franchise. However, in February 2011 he was replaced by Tyler Perry. In 2012's Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, the sequel to Ghost Rider, Elba played an alcoholic warrior monk tasked with finding the title character. In February 2012, Elba confirmed that he would portray Nelson Mandela in the film Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, which is based on his autobiography. As part of his preparation for the role, Elba spent a night locked in a cell alone on Robben Island, where Mandela had been imprisoned. His performance earned him a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama.

In June 2012, Elba portrayed Captain Janek in Ridley Scott's Prometheus. He joined the 2013 film Pacific Rim in the role of Stacker Pentecost. In January 2014, he confirmed that he would be starring in a film adaptation of Luther.

In 2015, Elba appeared as Heimdall in the superhero blockbuster Avengers: Age of Ultron, directed by Joss Whedon. Elba also starred alongside Abraham Attah in the film Beasts of No Nation which premiered in select theaters and on Netflix. He earned a Golden Globe nomination for the Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture as well as a BAFTA nomination for a Supporting Actor award in the Film category. Elba voiced the cape buffalo chief of police, Chief Bogo in Disney's 2016 new universal claimed classic, Zootopia, alongside Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman. Elba voiced the villainous tiger Shere Khan in 2016's The Jungle Book, a live-action remake of the animated 1967 film of the same name. He will also provide voice work on Pixar's upcoming Finding Dory, alongside Ellen DeGeneres and Albert Brooks, both reprising their roles from 2003's Finding Nemo. In 2016, Stephen King confirmed that Elba will portray Roland Deschain in the upcoming Dark Tower movie.

Music career

Elba has appeared in music videos for Fat Joe (2002), Angie Stone (2004) and rapper Giggs (2010). In 2006, he recorded the four-song EP Big Man for Hevlar Records. He co-produced and performed on the intro to Jay-Z's 2007 album American Gangster. He DJ'd at the 2007 NBA All Star parties at the The Venetian and Ice House Lounge in Las Vegas.

In July 2009, Elba was the DJ for BET's new series Rising Icons. Elba announced the release of his first single "Please Be True." In the August 2009 issue of Essence magazine, he announced the name of his six-song EP as Kings Among Kings. He released his EP High Class Problems Vol. 1 in the United Kingdom in February 2010, for which he has won many prizes including a Billboard Music Awards nomination.

In 2011, he performed on the intro to Pharoahe Monch's album W.A.R.. The following year, he co-directed and performed in the Mumford and Sons music video for "Lover of the Light".

In 2014 he produced K. Michelle's "The Rebellious Soul Musical" which debuted on VH1 on 19 August 2014. In May Elba featured on Mr Hudson's single "Step Into the Shadows". Mr Hudson also produced his album Idris Elba Presents mi Mandela, which was released in November 2014. He also featured on the remix of Ghanaian music group, VVIP's single "selfie" together with Nigerian rapper Phyno released on 12 September 2014 and video released on YouTube on 11 April 2015.

Elba performed a rap for the second album by Noel Fielding and Sergio Pizzorno's band, the Loose Tapestries. Elba also rapped in a remix of Skepta's "Shutdown" which was uploaded on 1 June 2015 to SoundCloud. On 17 August, a song was released on which Elba appeared on Nigerian singer D'banj's single "Confidential", featuring Sierra Leonean rapper Shadow Boxer with the video uploaded to YouTube on 20 August. In November 2015, Elba opened for Madonna during her Rebel Heart Tour in Berlin, Germany. Elba is also featured on the 2016 Macklemore & Ryan Lewis album This Unruly Mess I've Made.

Other work

In October 2014, Elba presented the series Journey Dot Africa with Idris Elba on BBC Radio 2, exploring all types of African music. Elba has also featured in various television commercials for SKY box-sets in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Elba has created a collaboration with British fashion label Superdry, which launched at the end of November 2015.

Personal life

The Prince's Trust, a leading UK youth charity which Elba credits with helping to start his career, appointed him its Anti-Crime Ambassador in April 2009. In July 2010, he announced his support for Oona King in her campaign to become the Labour Party candidate for Mayor of London in 2012.

Elba married makeup artist Hanne "Kim" Norgaard in 1999. He moved her to New York but they separated while Norgaard was pregnant with their daughter Isan Elba (b. 2001) and officially divorced in 2003.

As "The Wire" filmed in Maryland he lived there. On the Eastern Shore is where he met real estate attorney Sonia Nicole Hamlin. They married in 2006 with the marriage only lasting six weeks before Elba left her.

After dating since 2013, in 2014, Elba's girlfriend Naiyana Garth gave birth to their son Winston Elba. In 2016, Garth and Elba separated.

On religion, Elba states that he is "spiritual but not religious", clarifying that "... I'm not a religious man in that sense. I call myself a spiritual being, if you like."

He has been a fan of Premier League football club Arsenal F.C. since he was a teenager. He is also an avid rally fan, having competed in the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship as well as starring in the show Idris Elba: No Limits, where he races a rally car with help from Ari Vatanen.

Awards and honours

Elba was selected as one of People's annual 100 Most Beautiful People in the World in May 2007. He was named Essence's annual 2013 Sexiest Man of the Year and was also ranked #2 in People's annual Sexiest Man Alive in 2013.

In October 2014, Elba was presented with a MOBO Inspiration Award. In 2015, he was named one of GQ magazine's 50 best dressed British men.

As part of his Discovery Channel miniseries Idris Elba: No Limits, he broke the course record land speed "Flying Mile" for the Pendine Sands.

Elba was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to drama.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1999	Belle maman	Grégoire
2000	Sorted	Jam
2001	Buffalo Soldiers	Kimborough
2003	One Love	Aaron
2005	Gospel, TheThe Gospel	Charles Frank
2005	Sometimes in April	Augustin
2007	Daddy's Little Girls	Monty James
2007	Reaping, TheThe Reaping	Ben
2007	28 Weeks Later	General Stone
2007	American Gangster	Tango
2007	This Christmas	Quentin Whitfield
2008	Prom Night	Detective Winn
2008	RocknRolla	Mumbles
2008	Human Contract, TheThe Human Contract	Larry
2009	Unborn, TheThe Unborn	Arthur Wyndham
2009	Obsessed	Derek Charles
2010	Takers	Gordon Cozier
2010	Legacy	Malcolm Gray	Executive producer
2010	Losers, TheThe Losers	Roque
2011	Thor	Heimdall
2012	Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance	Moreau
2012	Prometheus	Captain Janek
2013	Pacific Rim	Stacker Pentecost
2013	Thor: The Dark World	Heimdall
2013	Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom	Nelson Mandela
2014	No Good Deed	Colin Evans	Executive producer
2015	The Gunman	DuPont
2015	Second Coming	Mark
2015	Avengers: Age of Ultron	Heimdall
2015	Beasts of No Nation	Commandant
2016	Zootopia	Chief Bogo (voice)
2016	Bastille Day	Sean Briar
2016	The Jungle Book	Shere Khan (voice)
2016	Finding Dory	Fluke (voice)	Post-production
2016	Star Trek Beyond	Krall	Post-production
2017	The Dark Tower	Roland Deschain	Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1994	2point4 Children	Parachute Instructor	Episode: "Fortuosity"
1994	Space Precinct	Pizza Delivery Man	Episode: "Double Duty"
1995	Absolutely Fabulous	Hilton	Episode: "Sex"
1996	Crocodile Shoes II	Jo-Jo	Episode: "Troubled Man"
1997	Family Affairs	Tim Webster	7 episodes
1997	Silent Witness	Charlie	Episode: "Blood, Sweat & Tears"
1998	Ultraviolet	Vaughan Rice	6 episodes
1999	Dangerfield	Matt Gregory	12 episodes
2000	In Defence	PC Paul Fraser	1 episode
2001	Law & Order	Lonnie Liston	Episode: "3 Dawg Night"
2002	The Inspector Lynley Mysteries	Robert Gabriel	Episode: "Payment in Blood"
2002-2004	Wire, TheThe Wire	Russell "Stringer" Bell	37 episodes
2003	CSI: Miami	Angelo Sedaris	Episode: "The Best Defense"
2005	Girlfriends	Paul	Episode: "All in a Panic"
2005	Sometimes in April	Augustin Muganza	Television film
2008	No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, TheThe No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency	Charles Gotso	Episode: "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency"
2009	The Office	Charles Miner	7 episodes
2010	Big C, TheThe Big C	Lenny	4 episodes
2010	Walk Like a Panther		Executive producer
2010-2015	Luther	DCI John Luther	Producer 16 episodes
2011	Aqua Teen Hunger Force	Police Officer	Voice Episode: "Intervention"
2011	How Hip Hop Changed the World		Executive producer
2011	Demons Never Die		Executive producer
2012	Idris Elba's How Clubbing Changed the World	Himself	Host
2013	Idris Elba: King of Speed	Himself	Host
2015	Idris Elba: No Limits	Himself	Host

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2011	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3	SFC "Truck"
2014	FIFA 15	Voice in E3 Trailer

Music videos

Year	Artist	Title	Role	Notes
2012	Mumford and Sons	"Lover of the Light"	Blind Man	Co-director, producer
	Giggs	Hustle On	Driver	Producer
2016	Macklemore	Dance Off	Himself	Featuring Artist

Discography

Albums

• 2015: Murdah Loves John (The John Luther Character Album)

EPs

• 2006: Big Man
• 2009: Kings Among Kings
• 2010: High Class Problems Vol. 1
• 2014: Idris Elba Presents Mi Mandela

Mixtapes

• 2011: Merry DriisMas Holiday Mixtape

Awards and nominations

Year	Work	Award	Result
2005	Gospel, TheThe Gospel	Black Reel Award for Best Actor	Nominated
	Sometimes in April	Black Reel Award for Best Actor: T.V. Movie/Cable	Nominated
		NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special	Nominated
2007	Daddy's Little Girls	BET Award for Best Actor	Nominated
	American Gangster	Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture	Nominated
2008	This Christmas, American Gangster and 28 Weeks Later	BET Award for Best Actor	Nominated
2009	RocknRolla and The Unborn		Nominated
	Obsessed	NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture	Nominated
2010	The Losers	BET Award for Best Actor	Won
	Takers	Black Reel Award for Best Ensemble	Nominated
	Luther	Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Miniseries or Television Film	Nominated
2011	Takers	NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture	Nominated
	Takers and Luther	BET Award for Best Actor	Won
	Luther	NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special	Won
	Big C, TheThe Big C	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series	Nominated
	Luther	Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Miniseries or Television Film	Won
		Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie	Nominated
		Satellite Award for Best Actor - Miniseries or Television Film	Nominated
2012		Black Reel Award for Best Actor: T.V. Movie/Cable	Won
		Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie	Nominated
	Thor, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance and Luther	BET Award for Best Actor	Nominated
2014	Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom	Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama	Nominated
	Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom and Thor: The Dark World	BET Award for Best Actor	Nominated
	Luther	Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Miniseries or Television Film	Nominated
		NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special	Won
		Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie	Nominated
2015	Luther and No Good Deed	BET Award for Best Actor	Nominated
	Beasts of No Nation	Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor	Won
		Awards Circuit Community Award for Best Supporting Actor	Nominated
		BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role	Nominated
		Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture	Nominated
		Indiana Film Journalists Association Award for Best Supporting Actor	Nominated
		Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male	Won
		Kermode Award for Best Actor	Won
		Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role	Won
		Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture	Nominated
	Luther	Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Miniseries or Television Film	Nominated
		Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Movie/Miniseries	Won
		Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie	Won

[ Source: Wikipedia ]