I’m a little sheepish about it. Whenever I meet fans and they’re like, ‘Oh, you’re so sexy,’ I just don’t get that. There’s no way one man can be universally sexy. – Idris Elba
I want to go to Sierra Leone with something – whether it’s some sort of contribution to healthcare, or to the entertainment industry. My cousin is a nurse; we are talking about opening a clinic. – Idris Elba
I’m an ambitious person. I never consider myself in competition with anyone, and I’m not saying that from an arrogant standpoint, it’s just that my journey started so, so long ago, and I’m still on it and I won’t stand still. – Idris Elba
If you are going to call a film a ‘black film’ then you have to make a film that represents everyone that’s black, which is almost impossible. That is why white films are not called white films, they are just called ‘films.’ – Idris Elba
As an actor, you’re trained to do the right thing, be politically correct, say your lines, say the right thing about the people you’re working with. – Idris Elba
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. – Idris Elba
I get criticized for taking roles in films like ‘Ghost Rider 2’, but if you look at my resume, dude, I’ve mixed it up as much as I can. – Idris Elba
When I look at my body of work, I’ve played a lot of characters who are morally conflicted – ‘I’m right, no I’m wrong, I don’t know what to do!’ I want to play more characters who don’t care as much, and who aren’t as measured. They are what they are, no apologies. – Idris Elba
Because I was big, I didn’t have to listen to anyone doubting me. I was just considered good at football or whatever, there were no questions about it. – Idris Elba
There’s a fast-track if you can do the networking. For some personalities it works, but for mine it doesn’t. – Idris Elba
Every leading lady I work with, I’ll see if I can get a song out of them and put it on an album. – Idris Elba
There’s the argument that you can relate to someone who’s completely unrelatable. In the way that a director shows you his imagination on a film, then I get to show you my imagination in a big dumb character. – Idris Elba
Are there differences between black actors’ opportunities and white actors’ opportunities? Yes, there are. It’s been said. – Idris Elba
I love bikes. I used to own one, but I fell off it when I was younger and that was the end of my bike riding days until now. – Idris Elba
The only thing I change mainly is my sneakers. I love sneakers. But everything’s sort of black or jeans. Jeans, always. – Idris Elba
You know, film is the ultimate goal in an actor’s career. I mean, I still love TV. I have my feet firmly stamped in it. But my opportunities have been bigger and better. – Idris Elba