Idris Elba, meet another underrated actor ...

Idrissa Akuna Elba was born on September 6, 1972 in London to a Sierra Leonean father and a Ghanian mother. His parents still live in East London. Idris currently lives in Florida.

When he was in high school his drama teacher spoke to him about pursuing acting as a career. While trying to jumpstart his acting career Idrissa A. Elba shortened his first name to Idris. In order to make ends meet while waiting for the offers to come in, Elba worked as a DJ in nightclubs.

Yes everyone, a DJ. Don’t be so surprised! His DJ name is DJ Driis. Elba still uses the name today whenever he DJ’s and when he produces music. If you are seriously interested in checking out his music you can go to his myspace page.He has worked with big names such as Jay-Z and Angie Stone to name a few.

http://www.myspace.com/hevlar_recordings

Although he began acting in England back in 1992, it really wasn’t until he came to the states and appeared in the HBO Series The Wire as Stringer Bell back in 2001, that we were given a glimpse of his acting ability.  

Since then we have had the honor of enjoying him in:

• The Gospel (2005)
• The Reaping (2005)
• Tyler Perry’s Daddy’s Little Girls (2007)
• This Christmas (2007)
• American Gangster (2007)
• 28 Weeks Later (2007)
• Prom Night (2008)
• Obsessed (2009)
• The Big C (2010) Showtime

I am sure that I did not list each and every single one of the movies and shows he has appeared in throughout the years. I have listed some of the ones that I have seen him in and enjoyed.

In September, 2009 he began filming a 6 part television miniseries Luther playing Detective Chief Inspector John Luther who works in London’s SCU (Serious Crime Unit). It aired earlier this year in May, 2010 on BBC One in London, England and has finally been brought to us in the United States through BBC America on October 17th, 2010. This series is a tangled web of deceit and mind games. It is captivating. Elba speaks in his native tongue with that beautiful British accent leaving you intrigued and wanting more. You become so fixed in this character John Luther so much so that you can relate to his every emotion.

When I saw the first episode, I could not stop myself from thinking of who this character John Luther reminded me of. I began to get frustrated and gave up, didn’t think of it anymore. Episode two comes around and I got it, “BAM”, like a slap in the face, it was Lt. Columbo played by Peter Falk, from the series Columbo (1971) . I decided to read up on Luther and unbeknownst to me the creator Neil Cross had been inspired by none other than Columbo and Sherlock Holmes when he created the character John Luther.

In 2010, Idris appeared in the Showtime series, "The Big C" as the sexy school painter named Lenny and Laura Linney’s lover. If you have not seen the show, I encourage you to catch up on these episodes.

Elba has been signed to play Forensic Psychologist Dr. Alex Cross, a character that was created by my favorite author James Patterson. When brought to the big screen, this role was originated by Morgan Freeman in Kiss The Girls (1997) and Along Came A Spider (2001) . Production is set to begin in the Spring ‘2011 on the movie that is supposed to be based on the book, “Cross” by my favorite author James Patterson.

This is a must see for me. I love the Alex Cross series and cannot wait to see Idris Elba playing this character. I hope that having taken this big step, Elba will be able to make this character his own. This is not an easy task as many of you may recall Julianne Moore in Hannibal (2001) , when she reprised the role of Clarice Starling which had been previously played by Jodie Foster. I have no doubt that Elba will shine. In doing so, he will show everyone the amazing, brilliant actor that he is.

Elba has finished filming the Marvel Comic Movie Thor as the Asgardian Norse God, Heimdall.

Check out this clip of the movie.

Published Thursday, October 28, 2010