Written by Bart Chan
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LEADING ROLE: Idris Elba plays Nelson Mandela in a new film (PA)
HOLLYWOOD ACTOR Idris Elba has admitted he was “prejudiced about South Africa” when he first arrived there to start shooting for his new film biopic about Nelson Mandela in which he plays the country’s iconic former president.
The Wire star has the leading role in Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom and plays out the life of the Nobel Prize-winning statesman from his early 20s to his 70s.
Elba told The Source: “I was prejudiced about South Africa when I got there. I wasn’t sure what to expect and I really was really surprised.
“They opened their arms for me, showed me a lot of love and just gave me the food I needed to bring this character alive. I enjoyed it, I even asked for a passport. They didn’t give me one.”
Speaking more about Mandela, the actor said: “He’s a great man, it’s a great story and it’s a gift of a part. I get to play him from the early 20s into his 70s.
“I get to show some range.”
On the subject of mastering Mandela’s accent, the Thor star added: “His voice was really tricky, the voice is very distinctive, everyone knows what he sounds like. And so I really spent a lot of time trying to figure that out.
“I have a very London accent and my voice is nothing like his, nowhere near as distinguished and I had to sort of figure out a way to make that real.
“I watched a lot of footage, I listened to his voice a lot. I kind of watched his body language. I also watched the people and how they reacted to him. There were lots of people going ‘Ah,’ and that was what I realised his essence was about.”
Image Text:
LEADING ROLE: Idris Elba plays Nelson Mandela in a new film (PA)
HOLLYWOOD ACTOR Idris Elba has admitted he was “prejudiced about South Africa” when he first arrived there to start shooting for his new film biopic about Nelson Mandela in which he plays the country’s iconic former president.
The Wire star has the leading role in Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom and plays out the life of the Nobel Prize-winning statesman from his early 20s to his 70s.
Elba told The Source: “I was prejudiced about South Africa when I got there. I wasn’t sure what to expect and I really was really surprised.
“They opened their arms for me, showed me a lot of love and just gave me the food I needed to bring this character alive. I enjoyed it, I even asked for a passport. They didn’t give me one.”
Speaking more about Mandela, the actor said: “He’s a great man, it’s a great story and it’s a gift of a part. I get to play him from the early 20s into his 70s.
“I get to show some range.”
On the subject of mastering Mandela’s accent, the Thor star added: “His voice was really tricky, the voice is very distinctive, everyone knows what he sounds like. And so I really spent a lot of time trying to figure that out.
“I have a very London accent and my voice is nothing like his, nowhere near as distinguished and I had to sort of figure out a way to make that real.
“I watched a lot of footage, I listened to his voice a lot. I kind of watched his body language. I also watched the people and how they reacted to him. There were lots of people going ‘Ah,’ and that was what I realised his essence was about.”