Idris Elba

View 5 Images

Idris Elba announces plan to retire and focus on another career

Idris Elba has shared plans to retire from acting. Despite being one of the highest grossing actors and rumours he will be the next James Bond, the 53-year-old has expressed a desire to pivot to another career. In a Q&A at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia on 10 December, Idris shared that he wanted to hang up his acting hat and hoped his fans wouldn’t be “mad” at him.

 

“I’m hoping that my fan base as an actor isn’t made at me,” he said whilst promoting his new short film Dust To Dreams. “But eventually, I want to transfer to be a director fully. I’ve been acting for a long time. I love it still, but I think directing allows me to flex slightly different muscles and just be a part of the set in a different way. I really enjoy it.”

 

Idris Elba has won awards for his acting

View 5 Images

Idris Elba has won awards for his acting(Image: Getty Images for BAFTA)

He wants to retire

View 5 Images

He wants to retire(Image: Getty Images)

Article continues below

Idris directed his first feature film, Yardie, in 2018. He’d previously done a TV short, Rebellious Soul: The Musical, making Dust To Dreams his second short and third directorial film. He also has three films that have not been released yet, including one called Above The Below, which he also stars in.

The Thor actor is one of the top 20 highest grossing actors, as his films, including several Marvel projects and a biopic about Nelson Mandela, have grossed over $9.8 billion at the global box office.

In recent years, Idris has also been tipped to replace Daniel Craig as James Bond. He even suggested he would say yes to the role if it was offered to him, even if it’s not something he’s actively pursuing.

Thor

View 5 Images

Idris was Heimdall in Thor

Idris Elba as Nelson Mandela in Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom

View 5 Images

And Nelson Mandela in Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom

Talking to Vanity Fair in 2019, he said: “James Bond is a hugely coveted, iconic, beloved character, that takes audiences on this massive escapism journey. Of course, if someone said to me ‘Do you want to play James Bond?,’ I’d be like, Yeah! That’s fascinating to me. But it’s not something I’ve expressed, like, yeah, I wanna be the black James Bond.”

In the same article, he said he was “disheartened” by the backlash to Bond rumours. He shared that he found it troubling that some people thought he couldn’t do the role, which has so far been played by white men, purely because of his race. Idris added that the backlash meant taking on the role would be a “difficult position to put myself into”.