Idris Elba Quotes
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The English are good at bad guys - the James Bond-style villain, cunning, slow-burning. The Americans are much more obvious about it.
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White actors still get way more money in Hollywood. It's been that way for a very long time. I hope it'll change, but it's a matter of forcing that change.
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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.
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The only thing I change mainly is my sneakers. I love sneakers. But everything's sort of black or jeans. Jeans, always.
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I was really ambitious, so I was innovative. I was one of the first DJs to do live calls, 'cause I found this phone device that would pick up other people's voices.
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I was into Spider Man when I was a kid and that was the only comic I've ever read.
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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.'
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I don't get recognised that much yet in London, but when I do I get a real sense of achievement.
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I think there's a tendency for actors like myself, and I don't mean to generalize myself, but I've played 'men's men,' if you will, characters that are simmering rage and calculated. There's a trend not to play anything that is opposed to that.
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When I was a kid, I thought it was tough.
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I try to fit in workouts whenever I can.
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I think 'The Wire' really is relatable. It reflects an ongoing issue across America, about inaccuracies in major cities between rich and the poor and some of the things that go on behind the red tape of council and government bodies.
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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.
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If I was gonna go to jail, I don't want to go to jail for stealing a bottle of water. I'll steal that $20 million. At least then it was worth it.
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I've been DJing mostly, and most DJs end up producing. That's just me.
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I still sing on bits and pieces. Singing's something that I love to do, but it's not something that I pursue as a career.
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Yeah, I know, any time you hear an actor say, 'I do music', you cringe. But I want to be gradual with my music. I want to earn my stripes.
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There has been a big debate about it: can a black man play a Nordic character?
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I'm not interested in making all-black films - I come from a very diverse culture; I want to work with every type of person. I work a lot with women executives because they seem to be a lot more open minded about that and a lot more progressive in that way.
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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.
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You watch yourself age and it's hard to feel like a sex symbol.
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The long and short of it is that I am now in a position in England to green light movies, and that's really excellent - not high-budget movies, but movies none the less.
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It's weird because my parents don't really understand my business. I get fan mail all day long, but if a piece happens to get to their house, they're like, 'Oh, my God, you've got a fan! You have to write them back. You have to do it!'
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Whether it's music or acting, that creativity all comes from the same source.