Despite his roles in numerous movies portraying violence and guns, British actor Idris Elba’s real-life experience took a serious turn when an encounter left him contemplating the dangerous consequences.
According to The Daily Mail interview, the British actor, known for his work in The Harder They Fall and other films, found himself in a perilous situation when a man, mistakenly thinking Elba was hitting on his girlfriend, threatened him with a gun.
The frightening incident occurred in the United States and had serious implications, nearly jeopardizing the actor’s life.
“I nearly lost my fing life, after attempting to stop a man threatening his girlfriend outside a club,” the 50-year-old said. “A guy (was) whaling on his missus, screaming in her face, ‘I’ll fing kill you,’ and so on. I come round and I go ‘Look how beautiful she is. Why would you talk to this beautiful princess like that?’”
Things, however, went south afterward as Elba said the man “pulled out a gun, stuck it right in my face, and goes, ‘You talking about my girl?”’
“He thought I was trying to hit on her. I remember thinking, “Don’t play negotiations like that… Consequences, man,”’ he added.
Despite his successful career in Hollywood, Idris Elba had to resort to unconventional means to finance his acting aspirations when he first moved to the United States. In an interview on Sirius XM’s The Jess Cagle Show, the renowned star of “Luther” candidly shared that one of his “odd jobs” during that time involved selling weed. As previously reported by Face2Face Africa, Elba revealed that veteran comedian Dave Chappelle was one of his clients during this period of financial struggle. This glimpse into Elba’s past showcases the determination and resilience he exhibited while pursuing his acting dream.
“I went to a performing arts college and did two years of everything –– scene painting, a little ballet, a little contemporary dance,” Elba recalled. “I came out and basically went straight into work.”
The actor also recalled his first few years in the United States were tough. “It just all fell flat on its face very quickly for about four years,” he recalled. “In that time period, I did a lot of things that I’m not proud of. But I did a lot of the things.”