By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo by Maarten de BoerContour by Getty Images
Idris Elba is one of the most consistent working actors in Hollywood today.
His work has been influential, and his talent for the big screen is magnificent.
In an interview on BBC America, Elba shared his plans to create a movie studio in Africa and invest in the continent’s thriving film industry. Storytelling matters to him, and he is highly motivated to start investing.
“I’m a GA boy, so I like my sun, I like the Heat, I like my food,” Elba said. “We have to invest in our storytelling. Our culture has often times been told back to Africans out from outsiders.”
Elba is of Ghana and Sierra Leonean descent. He elaborates on the importance of owning stories and avoiding African stereotypes.
“All you’re going to see is trauma, how we were slaves, how we were colonized, how it’s just war,” Elba said. “And when you come to Africa and you’re raised here, you know that’s not true. So it’s really important that we own those stories of our traditions, our country, our languages of the difference between one tribe and another. The world doesn’t know that.”
Elba is best known for roles as Stringer Bell on the HBO series The Wire, John Luther on the series Luther, and Nelson Mandela in the biopic ‘Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.’
Elba is a four-time Golden Globe award nominee, winner of one award, and five-time Emmy award nominee. He is one of the highest-grossing actors in Hollywood.
Elba’s next projects are the films “Heads of State,” “Fixed,” and “Above the Below.”
For television, Elba currently serves as executive producer and lead voice for Paramount Plus’ Knuckles,’ a series based on the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series.
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com
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