Idris Elba stopped calling himself a black actor after it 'put him in a box'

Idris Elba stopped calling himself a black actor after it ‘put him in a box’

Steve Hopkins

Idris Elba stopped calling himself “a Black actor” when he realised it became a constrictive label, and had put him “in a box”.

The Luther actor recently spoke out on racism and how he believes “not talking about the differences” between people would be more beneficial to society in an interview with Esquire UK.

Elba, who is returning as his iconic detective Luther in Netflix’s upcoming movie ‘Luther: The Fallen Son,’ told the publication that people “are obsessed with race”, and not in a good way.

The 50-year-old said: “Of course, I’m a member of the Black community.

“You say a prominent one. But when I go to America, I’m a prominent member of the British community. ‘Oh, UK’s in the house!’”

Elba continued: “If we spent half the time not talking about the differences but the similarities between us, the entire planet would have a shift in the way we deal with each other.”

Elba said humans “obsession” with race is unhelpful as it can “really hinder people’s aspirations, hinder people’s growth”.

“Racism should be a topic for discussion, sure. Racism is very real. But from my perspective, it’s only as powerful as you allow it to be. I stopped describing myself as a Black actor when I realised it put me in a box. We’ve got to grow. We’ve got to. Our skin is no more than that: it’s just skin. Rant over.”

Elba told Esquire how he decided to become an actor because he “didn’t see Black people doing it and I wanted to change that”, but added that he also “thought that’s a great profession and I could do a good job at it”.

While promoting the film, the actor also spoke about his humble beginnings.

He recalled living up on the ninth floor of the Holly Street Estate in Hackney.

“It has changed now. Been knocked down to a large degree. But it’s still, in essence, exactly what it was and, geographically, exactly where it was. I love going back. I look up in the sky,” he said.

“These skyscrapers were my first understanding of scale. Of who I am, how I fit. Huge, 19 floors. So when I go back, and I look up, I get to see this view and understand my scale differently now. F**king fascinating.”

And he spoke about being asked about his race once he started making a name for himself: “As you get up the ladder, you get asked what it’s like to be the first Black to do this or that. Well, it’s the same as it would be if I were white. It’s the first time for me. I don’t want to be the first Black. I’m the first Idris.”

The plot for The Falling Sun involves a serial killer who is terrorising London while disgraced detective Luther sits behind bars, haunted by his failure to capture the cyber psychopath who is constantly mocking and taunting him along the way.

Elba notched four Emmy nominations, plus two Golden Globe wins, a Screen Actors Guild award and a Critics’ Choice award for the series.

Luther: The Fallen Sun is available on Netflix from 10 March.

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