On The Big Screen
Elba’s first feature film role came in 1999 with the French movie Belle Maman, starring Catherine Deneuve. Soon enough, he was popping up in 2001’s Buffalo Soldiers and 2005’s The Gospel. 2007, however, saw the first real Elba-Blitz, with Daddy’s Little Girls, The Reaping, 28 Weeks Later, American Gangster and This Christmas all arriving in theatres featuring Idris Elba performances. The range of movies involved here – from Ridley Scott’s Oscar nominated American Gangster, to Tyler Perry’s moving low-budget family drama, Daddy’s Little Girls – proved to be a sign of things to come, as Elba continued to mix up his slate going forward.
The years that followed saw Elba work with a host of notable filmmakers, including Guy Ritchie in RocknRolla, Steve Shill in Obsessed, and Jada Pinkett Smith in The Human Contract. Writer-director Thomas Eromose Ikimi cast Idris Elba as the lead for his psychological thriller Legacy: Black Ops, which saw the actor as a former military officer gradually unravelling in a single room. This film in particular drew great acclaim for his performance, which successfully anchored the entire narrative.
Then came Marvel – and it doesn’t get much higher in profile than that. Idris Elba was cast as Heimdall – the omniscient guardian sentry of Asgard – in the first solo movie of the God of Thunder, 2011’s Thor. Heimdall is an integral part of Thor’s story within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and as such, the character has featured in Thor: The Dark World, Avengers: Age Of Ultron and the upcoming Thor: Ragnarok. For Elba, Heimdall also opened the door to larger roles in big budget action movies, including 2012’s Prometheus and 2013’s Pacific Rim.
But, in amongst his appearances in Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance, Debbie Tucker Green’s film Second Coming and Sam Miller’s film No Good Deed, Elba also tackled a depiction of Nelson Mandela in Mandela: The Long Walk To Freedom – Justin Chadwick’s adaptation of Mandela’s autobiography. The film received critical acclaim not just for its balanced portrayal of the central, legendary individuals, but also for Elba’s nuanced, towering performance as the prisoner who became president.
