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Idris Elba

Idris Elba

Highest Rated: 98% Zootopia (2016)

Lowest Rated: 8% The Reaping (2007)

Birthday: Sep 6, 1972

Birthplace: Hackney, England, UK

British actor, Idris Elba became known for playing the Baltimore drug dealer Stringer Bell on HBO's widely-acclaimed drama "The Wire" (HBO, 2002-08), in addition to countless other high profile television and film roles. Elba was born in Hackney, London in 1972. His parents were immigrants (his father was born in Sierra Leone, while his mother was from Ghana), and moved to London by way of Sierra Leone shortly before Elba was born. Elba grew up in East Ham and Hackney, and first got interested in acting after seeing an advertisement in a London-based entertainment publication. The advertisement was asking newbie actors to audition for a new play. Elba jumped at the opportunity, and showed up at the audition. On his first try, Elba landed the part, and would later meet his first agent while performing in the play. Performing in the play was an eye-opening experience for Elba, who decided quickly after that he wanted to be an actor. At the age of 16 he was able to land a huge break by landing a spot in the National Youth Music Theater, thanks to a grant from the Prince's Trust charitable organization. While a member of the National Youth Music Theater, Elba was able to hone his acting craft, while developing the necessary skills he needed to make it as a performer. It was also around this time that Elba began working for his uncle's wedding D.J. company and found that he absolutely loved scratching records. His love grew so strong that by his late teens Elba embarked on a career as a D.J. He would go on to play music in London nightclubs in the evening, while working a number of odd jobs by the day. In his early 20s Elba made a serious attempt at launching his acting career. In addition to working his D.J. jobs, in which he went by the name of Big Driis, he began auditioning for film and TV roles. By the mid-1990s, Elba was landing steady acting work in the U.K. He nabbed guest spots on the children's sitcom "2point4 Children" (BBC One, 1991-99) and the British comedy series "Absolutely Fabulous" (BBC Two/BBC One, 1992-2012), before landing a recurring role on the crime series "The Ruth Rendell Mysteries" (ITV, 1987-2000). By the late 90s and early 2000s Elba was nabbing recurring parts on a number of British television shows, including "Insiders" (BBC One, 1997), "Ultraviolet" (Channel 4, 1998), and "Dangerfield" (BBC One, 1995-99). Then in 2002 Elba landed his first big break across the pond when he was cast as Stringer Bell, a Baltimore-based drug kingpin, on David Simon's multi-layered crime drama series "The Wire." Elba played Stringer Bell for 37 episodes of the widely-acclaimed series, before his character was killed off in season 3. After playing Stringer Bell for three years, Idris Elba's acting career in both the U.K. and the United States flourished. In addition to nabbing parts in high-profile films like "28 Weeks Later" (2007) and "American Gangster" (2007), he starred as the title character in the BBC crime series "Luther" (BBC One, 2010 - ). He also landed a recurring role on the beloved American sitcom "The Office" (NBC, 2005-2013) in 2009. By the early 2010s Elba's acting profile continued to grow at a rapid pace. He appeared in blockbuster films like "Thor" (2011), "Prometheus" (2012), and "Pacific Rim" (2013), and was also cast as Nelson Mandela in the 2013 bio pic "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom" (2013). In 2016 Elba was nominated for a Golden Globe for his captivating performance in the drama "Beasts of No Nation" (2015), and appeared in the films "Molly's Game" (2017) and "Avengers: Infinity War" (2018). 2019 also proved to be a big year for Idris Elba. In addition to co-creating and starring in the Netflix series "Turn Up Charlie" (Netflix, 2019- ), a partially autobiographical show that was based on his experiences as a D.J., Elba appeared alongside The Rock and Jason Statham in the blockbuster action film "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw" (2019). When "Hobbs and Shaw" was released in the summer of 2019 the film made over $700 billion, making it one of the highest grossing films of the year-just another reason why Idris Elba had certified his status as one of Hollywood's most bankable actors of the 2010s.

Highest rated movies

93% 87% Thor: Ragnarok 91% 92% Beasts of No Nation 90% 82% The Suicide Squad 88% 93% The Harder They Fall 86% 80% Star Trek Beyond
86% 42% Legacy
85% 92% Avengers: Infinity War 81% 84% Molly's Game

Filmography

Movies

Credit
No Score Yet No Score Yet Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Knuckles (Voice) - 2024
67% 85% Luther: The Fallen Sun John Luther (Character),
Producer
- 2023
78% 76% The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse Fox (Voice) - 2022
71% 73% Three Thousand Years of Longing The Djinn (Character) $8.3M 2022
69% 77% Beast Dr. Nate Daniels (Character) $31.8M 2022
68% 96% Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Knuckles (Voice) $190.7M 2022
No Score Yet No Score Yet A New Diva's Christmas Carol Executive Producer - 2022
88% 93% The Harder They Fall Rufus Buck (Character) - 2021
90% 82% The Suicide Squad Bloodsport (Character) $55.8M 2021
80% 70% Concrete Cowboy Harp (Character),
Producer
- 2020
19% 53% Cats Macavity (Character) $27.2M 2019
67% 88% Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw Brixton (Character) $173.8M 2019
53% 53% Yardie Director $35.6K 2018
85% 92% Avengers: Infinity War Heimdall (Character) $678.8M 2018
81% 84% Molly's Game Charlie Jaffey (Character) $28.7M 2017
93% 87% Thor: Ragnarok Heimdall (Character) $315.0M 2017
39% 49% The Mountain Between Us Ben Bass (Character) $30.3M 2017
15% 44% The Dark Tower Roland (Character) $50.7M 2017
41% 36% A Hundred Streets Max (Character),
Producer
- 2016
48% 42% The Take Sean Briar (Character) $39.0K 2016
86% 80% Star Trek Beyond Krall (Character) $158.8M 2016
94% 84% Finding Dory Fluke (Voice) $486.2M 2016
94% 86% The Jungle Book Shere Khan (Voice) $364.0M 2016
98% 92% Zootopia Chief Bogo (Voice) - 2016
No Score Yet No Score Yet Mandela, My Dad and Me Unknown (Character),
Executive Producer
- 2015
91% 92% Beasts of No Nation Commandant (Character),
Producer
$83.9K 2015
76% 82% Avengers: Age of Ultron Heimdall (Character) $459.0M 2015
15% 31% The Gunman DuPont (Character) $10.6M 2015
79% 36% Second Coming Mark (Character) - 2014
No Score Yet 70% Enchanted Kingdom Narrator - 2014
12% 55% No Good Deed Colin (Character),
Executive Producer
$52.5M 2014
62% 68% Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom Nelson Mandela (Character) $8.3M 2013
67% 75% Thor: The Dark World Heimdall (Character) $206.4M 2013
72% 77% Pacific Rim Stacker Pentecost (Character) $101.8M 2013
73% 68% Prometheus Janek (Character) $126.5M 2012
13% 60% Demons Never Die Executive Producer - 2011
19% 31% Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance Moreau (Character) $51.8M 2011
77% 76% Thor Heimdall (Character) $268.0M 2011
No Score Yet No Score Yet Gumball 3000 - LDN 2 NYC Self - 2011
86% 42% Legacy Malcolm Gray (Character) - 2010
28% 62% Takers Gordon Jennings (Character) $57.7M 2010
48% 54% The Losers Roque (Character) $23.6M 2010
19% 46% Obsessed Derek Charles (Character) $68.3M 2009
10% 30% The Unborn Father Arthur Wyndham (Character) $42.6M 2009
No Score Yet 26% The Human Contract Larry (Character) - 2008
60% 71% RocknRolla Mumbles (Character) $5.7M 2008
9% 38% Prom Night Det. Winn (Character) $43.8M 2008
55% 81% This Christmas Quentin Whitfield (Character) $49.1M 2007
72% 66% 28 Weeks Later Gen. Stone (Character) $28.6M 2007
8% 49% The Reaping Ben (Character) $25.1M 2007
26% 81% Daddy's Little Girls Monty (Character) $31.3M 2007
81% 89% American Gangster Tango (Character) $130.1M 2007
No Score Yet 95% Sometimes in April Augustin (Character) - 2005
32% 75% The Gospel Reverend Charles Frank (Character) $15.8M 2005
No Score Yet 85% One Love Aaron (Character) - 2003
No Score Yet 59% Belle maman Grégoire (Character) - 1999
No Score Yet No Score Yet Silent Witness: Blood, Sweat and Tears Charlie (Character) - 1997
No Score Yet No Score Yet Ruth Rendell Mysteries: Heartstones Unknown (Character) - 1996

TV

Credit
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Color of Victory: Heroes of WW2 Executive Producer,
Narrator
2024
75% 69% Knuckles Knuckles (Voice),
Executive Producer
2024
89% 79% What If...? Heimdall (Guest Voice) 2023
88% 50% Hijack Sam Nelson (Character),
Executive Producer
2023
No Score Yet 49% The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Guest 2019 2023
No Score Yet 66% Zootopia+ Chief Bogo (Voice) 2022
No Score Yet 73% Human Playground Narrator 2022
No Score Yet 28% The Drew Barrymore Show Guest 2022
No Score Yet 44% The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Guest 2016-2017 2021-2022
No Score Yet 62% The Kelly Clarkson Show Guest 2022
No Score Yet 41% Jimmy Kimmel Live! Guest 2011 2013-2014 2017 2022
No Score Yet No Score Yet Desus & Mero Guest 2021
No Score Yet No Score Yet A World of Calm Narrator 2020
No Score Yet No Score Yet In The Long Run Walter (Character),
Producer
2018-2020
No Score Yet No Score Yet Elba vs. Block Executive Producer,
Host
2020
No Score Yet No Score Yet Oprah Talks COVID-19 Guest 2020
No Score Yet No Score Yet Hot Ones Guest 2019
No Score Yet 14% The View Guest 2017 2019
52% 88% Turn Up Charlie Charlie (Character),
Creator,
Executive Producer
2019
No Score Yet 58% Saturday Night Live Host 2019
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Ellen DeGeneres Show Guest 2017 2019
88% 88% Luther DCI John Luther (Character),
Associate Producer,
Associate Editor,
Producer
2010-2011 2013 2015 2019
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Graham Norton Show Guest 2014 2017-2018
No Score Yet 61% Late Night With Seth Meyers Guest 2015 2017
75% 47% Guerrilla Kent (Character),
Executive Producer
2017
No Score Yet No Score Yet Five by Five Alpha Ash (Character),
Executive Producer
2017
No Score Yet 19% The Late Late Show With James Corden Guest 2017
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Daily Show Guest 2015
No Score Yet No Score Yet Idris Elba: King of Speed Host 2013
No Score Yet No Score Yet Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Guest 2012
No Score Yet No Score Yet Lopez Tonight Guest 2010-2011
55% 80% The Big C Lenny (Guest Star) 2010
81% 89% The Office Charles Miner (Guest Star) 2009
No Score Yet No Score Yet The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Unknown (Character) 2009
No Score Yet No Score Yet Afropop: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange Host 2008
No Score Yet No Score Yet Jonny Zero Unknown (Guest Star) 2005
No Score Yet No Score Yet Girlfriends Unknown (Guest Star) 2005
94% 96% The Wire Russell "Stringer" Bell (Character) 2002-2004
No Score Yet 65% CSI: Miami Unknown (Guest Star) 2003
20% No Score Yet Hack Unknown (Guest Star) 2002
No Score Yet 83% Law & Order Unknown (Guest Star) 2001
No Score Yet No Score Yet Dangerfield Unknown (Character) 1999
No Score Yet No Score Yet Ultraviolet Vaughn Rice (Character) 1998
No Score Yet 89% Absolutely Fabulous Hilton (Guest Star) 1995