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It was deeply important for me to understand where Mandela came from. Because we know where he was going, and that's a famous story, but who was he? Where did he come from? What was his upbringing?

Idris Elba

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Idris Elba
Age: 52
Born: 1972
Born: September 6
Actor
Composer
Disc Jockey
Film Actor
Film Director
Film Producer
Record Producer
Stage Actor
Television Actor
Television Producer
Hackney
Big Driis the Londoner
DJ Big Driis
Idrissa Akuna Elba Obe
Came
Story
Understand
Stories
Come
Mandela
Important
Upbringing
Going
Famous
Deeply

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I'd rather a young black actor read about success as opposed to how tough it was. I get these roles because I can act and that's it. Hopefully that's it.
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It could be Grammy night, Oscar night, whatever - I don't feel the pressure to be there.
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Every leading lady I work with, I'll see if I can get a song out of them and put it on an album.
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White actors still get way more money in Hollywood. It's been that way for a very long time. I hope it'll change, but it's a matter of forcing that change.
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In 'Pacific Rim' I had to have a haircut I wouldn't usually rock. However, the moustache I had in the film - that might have to come out again. It was a good moustache. Good times.
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I knew that if I wanted to be all I could be, I would have to go to the US. It took three years to get the accent right.
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I lived in America for a long time before I started working as an actor. Some actors show up on set and have never done an American accent before, so they rely on a slew of technical mechanisms. Part of what makes an accent is understanding why people speak that way - you have to understand the culture.
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I tend to stay away from the comics.
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Yeah, I know, any time you hear an actor say, 'I do music', you cringe. But I want to be gradual with my music. I want to earn my stripes.
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You’re directing a movie, but you are at the head of a ship of people, a whole fleet of people. And being able to manage that - being able to handle yourself as a director being a leader - that’s massively important.
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Africans, we hold on to our youths and whip them into shape.
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Television, for me, is a medium that I'm probably always going to be attached to, one way or another.
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What an honor it was to step into the shoes of Nelson Mandela and portray a man who defied odds, broke down barriers, and championed human rights before the eyes of the world.
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