ACTOR
Idris Elba
- Known for
- The Dark Tower (2017), Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011), Takers (2010), Bastille Day (2016)
36 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
Idris Elba is an actor best known for The Dark Tower, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance and Takers.
All facts (36)
- #001
Idris Elba is the only child of African immigrants who came to England. His father was from Sierra Leone and his mother from Ghana. His name is of Krio African origin.
- #002
For his role as Lenny Charles on The Big C (2010), Idris Elba was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, but lost to Justin Timberlake.
- #003
Like his father, who worked at Ford for 25 years in the 1980s, Idris Elba worked at Ford in England; in 2019 he became a spokesperson for Ford's electric vehicles.
- #004
When Idris Elba first moved to New York City in the late 1990s as an up-and-coming actor, he briefly worked as a bouncer at Caroline's Comedy Club on Broadway. He has no formal acting training.
- #005
Idris Elba has been a big Arsenal Football Club fan since he was 15. His father supports Manchester United Football Club (interview on the arsenal.com website, February 2010).
- #006
Idris Elba is a former member of the National Youth Music Theatre.
- #007
Idris Elba briefly attended Barking and Dagenham College, where he studied performing arts.
- #008
Idris Elba appeared on the Black Entertainment Television (BET) special Black Men: The Truth (2007).
- #009
Daniel Craig was the one who suggested Idris Elba could be the next James Bond, saying he would be magnificent. In response to fans who proposed him as a James Bond candidate, Elba himself said he was not interested in taking on the role.
- #010
Idris Elba broke the land speed record on the Pendine Sands "Flying Mile" course; in his mini-documentary series Idris Elba: No Limits (2015) he drove a dragster and piloted a plane. A passionate rally fan, he competed in the Irish Tarmac Rally Championship and appeared in the mini-series, in which he raced a rally car with the help of Ari Vatanen.
- #011
For his role in Beasts of No Nation (2015), Idris Elba is the first (and, as of 2016, only) person to win the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a motion picture for a performance that did not also receive an Oscar nomination.
- #012
Idris Elba and his fiancée Sabrina Dhowre Elba not only attended Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal wedding, but Elba also performed as a DJ at the reception at Harry and Meghan's invitation, playing a customized playlist ordered by the bride.
- #013
Idris Elba worked with Ron Perlman on the monster film Pacific Rim (2013). Both stars appeared in the hugely popular Star Trek universe. Perlman appeared in Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) and Elba in Star Trek Beyond (2016).
- #014
Idris Elba worked with Tom Hardy on the crime comedy RocknRolla (2008). Both stars appeared in the hugely popular Star Trek universe. Hardy appeared in Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) and Elba in Star Trek Beyond (2016).
- #015
Idris Elba played a spaceship commander in two very different science fiction films: Captain Janek of the spaceship Prometheus in the horror film Prometheus (2012), and Captain Balthazar M. Edison of the starship USS Franklin in Star Trek Beyond (2016).
- #016
Along with Sir John Hurt, Helena Bonham Carter, Keira Knightley and Cara Delevingne, Idris Elba announced his support for a vote for the United Kingdom to remain in the European Union in the 2016 UK EU membership referendum.
- #017
Idris Elba first met the model who would become his wife, Sabrina Dhowre Elba, at a party while filming The Mountain Among Us (2017). The couple announced their engagement in London, England, on 10 February 2018 and married in a secret ceremony in Marrakesh on 26 April 2019.
- #018
On 16 March 2020, Idris Elba said that he and his wife, Sabrina Dhowre Elba, had tested positive for COVID-19 during the pandemic. During the quarantine period, he stated that he had been asthmatic his whole life, which placed him in the high-risk category. On 31 March 2020, Elba announced that both he and his wife had reached the end of their two-week quarantine period.
- #019
The Prince's Trust, a leading youth charity that helped launch Elba's career, appointed him as an anti-crime ambassador. He was also appointed to serve on the Board of Governors of the British Film Institute, a charity, between 2018 and 2022.
- #020
Idris Elba and his wife, Sabrina Dhowre Elba, were honoured with the Crystal Award by the World Economic Forum (WEF), an international non-governmental organisation, for their work on environmental protection, food security and climate change.
- #021
The Movement Electronic Music Festival in Detroit, Michigan, announced that Elba would perform a back-to-back DJ mix set with Kevin Saunderson, an experienced electronic dance music (EDM) DJ and record producer.
- #022
Elba founded his own record label, Sound International, inspired by the legendary sound system his uncle ran in 1980s London, which had an open-minded approach to music. Emphasising global unity and freedom through the house music genre, the label seeks to showcase house music from around the world with the goal of signing records from every country.
- #023
It was announced that Elba had invested in Kiro Race Co, a racing team competing in the FIA Formula E World Championship. He discussed his experience with dyslexia, which turns scripts into hard-to-read texts, and this led him to help develop a device that allows young people to have scripts read aloud to them.
- #024
Elba was convicted of speeding after he was caught riding his BMW scooter at 28 miles per hour in the 20 mph zone of Chelsea Entertainment in central London. At Westminster Magistrates' Court he was fined $147 and had three penalty points added to his licence.
- #025
Elba was appointed an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2016 Queen's New Year Honours for services to drama, and was awarded a Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire in the 2026 King's New Year Honours for services to young people. He is an actor, musician and activist based in London, England.
- #026
Elba was depicted as the character Krall on one of 18 British commemorative postage stamps issued on 13 November 2020 celebrating the "Star Trek" television and film series. The stamps were issued as 12 separate stamps honouring captains and crew members, and 6 stamps on a single commemorative sheet highlighting heroes and villains. All the stamps were denomination-free and marked as first class (76p on the day of issue). Other names honoured in the set include William Shatner, Patrick Stewart, Avery Brooks, Kate Mulgrew, Scott Bakula, Jason Isaacs, Leonard Nimoy, Marina Sirtis, Alexander Siddig, Dominic Keating, Sonequa Martin-Green, Shazad Latif, Simon Pegg, Tom Hardy, Malcolm McDowell, David Warner and Alice Eve. Each stamp celebrates a starship or space station commander (James T. Kirk, Jean-Luc Picard, Benjamin Sisko, Kathryn Janeway), a key character from the series (Spock, Michael Burnham) and, in all the other cases, British actors who appeared in any version of Star Trek (television or film).
- #027
Idris Elba is good friends with Tilda Swinton, Jamie Foxx, Martin Freeman, John Cena, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tom Hardy, Tom Hiddleston, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Chris Hemsworth, Rebecca Ferguson and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
- #028
As of 2026, Elba's net worth from his successful career as an actor, DJ and music producer is estimated at approximately 50 million US dollars. He and his wife also run the genderless skincare and lifestyle brand S'able Labs, alongside fashion and book ventures.
- #029
Elba was one of the 50 people selected for "Making London awesome", marking Time Out magazine's 50th anniversary, for helping to shape London's cultural scene.
- #030
Elba, who has a podcast, said he hopes to quit social media because it makes him depressed.
- #031
Elba's films have grossed more than 9.8 billion dollars worldwide, including 3.6 billion dollars in North America.
- #032
Elba was included in the Time 100 list, Time magazine's ranking of the world's 100 most influential people.
- #033
Elba was chosen by People (US) magazine as one of the World's 100 Most Beautiful People.
- #034
Elba was named Sexiest Man Alive by People (US) magazine on 5 November 2018.
- #035
Elba is a fan of Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro, Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep.
- #036
Idris Elba currently divides his time between London, England, and Los Angeles, California.
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