Idris Elba Walks Into An Abu Dhabi Hotel Room! - What Now? with Trevor Noah Podcast

- Wow. We really talking. - We're doing this, man. Man, we're doing this. You happy? Sound happy? Yes. Picture happy. Everybody's happy. Alright. Then the most important question is, is Idris happy? How you feeling? I'm feeling good. I mean, I'm, I'm shocked that you're, you're awake. - You were in, you were in LA a few days ago. I was. I was in la Yeah. Less than 48 hours ago. Okay. I went, I went, I passed through London. to come to Abu Dhabi. Right. I've been doing some miles, bro. You really have some miles.

- Yeah. - Do you, do you get, do you get. to go to the lounge now? Yes. I mean, but no, I, you know, honestly, airports can be daunting. I, I get, I'm not an anxious flyer, but the airports are anxious. Make me anxious. - Wait, what? I don't Are you being serious right. - Now? Yeah. No, seriously. Airports just, just too much going on. It feels so fragile. It's weird. You know, I would. - Feel the calmest if I saw Idris Alba in an airport.

I'm not even joking. 'cause you carry yourself in a way. where I'd be like, man, everything's going bad. And I'd look and be like, is that Idris Alba? Everything's gonna be okay. Y'all, everything's gonna be okay. This is what now with Trevor Noah, you know, if you told me I would be.

in Abu Dhabi. Right. Just an hour away from Dubai. in a hotel room overlooking what seems like a beautiful bay. Also combined with like, I don't know, an office block. Speaking to Idris Alba, I would've said to you, this is probably a psychedelic dream that you're having. But that's exactly where I am chatting. to Idris Alba in Abu Dhabi and Oh yeah. Be, before we jump into everything, man,

congratulations on the, on the Saga Awards. That was beautiful. Oh, that was really beautiful coming from you. No man, for real. That was really, really Beau It was funny. It was heartfelt. It was like a vibe. It. - Was Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold. You just tell me I was funny. - You know that you're - Funny though. No, bro. I mean, you know that you're funny. Okay. So me and you having a laugh about fufu. or African stuff, you know, we laugh. - Yeah. - Yeah. But to stand up in front of the world like. that and do what you do. I thought about you a lot actually. 'cause you have a very good way of commanding a room.

Your comic timing is hilarious. You go off the cuff and come back onto, onto script. I was thinking about Trevor. I was trying to channel it. No, man, you, you killed it. If, - If you were channeling me, I now see me differently. I actually wanna see my whole life. channel through Idris Alba. Now if you sing, you were doing Trevor Noah. I'm like, damn. - It was, nah - Man. For real. It was a, what was it like? I haven't seen you host before, by the way. - Yeah, I don't actually, I wasn't meant to be hosting. It just gave me more segments than anyone else, because I had won two awards one time.

They duped me. They said, no, no, no. It's just a couple more links I'm. hosting. Yeah, you were hosting. - It was, it was a beautiful moment for me, man. I think one, it was cool to see something different. Two, I loved the vibe in the room. Like, you know, acting acting is such a weird profession in. that from the outside acting seems. impervious to anything. Right. You know what I mean? Yeah.

I'm sure you know what, what I what I mean by this. Yeah. You know, like a lot of people out there will. see you as an actor. They see anybody as an actor. and they go, oh, what a great job. What a great life. - Yeah. - It's perfect. Nothing affects you. You don't have the stress that a normal person has. - Yeah. - And I noticed in the awards, you. and other actors spent a lot of time talking about. what it was like going through the strikes in Hollywood. What it was like having the industry shut down. And I wondered, like, do those moments. make you rere realize the fragility of the,

of the industry you're in? A. - Hundred percent. - Yeah. - I mean, in terms of strikes, you know, in terms. of workers rights. 'cause that's what it's all about, right? Yeah. It's like we're workers one way or another of an industry. We're called actors called superstars called Ho. But we're workers. Right? And, and, and the rights of those workers are fragile, especially in a, an industry that, you know, is dominated by a few. And what was interesting about that room is that, I mean,

there was the biggest names in the film industry. who all went through the same thing, you know? And it was a strike and it was. crippling, I think for all of us. You know, we all, all the actors in that room just realized. that, you know, we're lucky to be working, lucky. to have the industry that we have, and we have a union that actually really fought. for some really important issues. Was there, was there ever a moment. - In your life when you stopped?

I mean, fear is the wrong word, but it's like, so maybe I'll, I'll I'll try and explain this. For people who aren't aware, a lot of people know. that in acting, there's auditioning. A lot of people know that in acting, you don't know when you may get your next role, et cetera. But I think few people truly appreciate. how unpredictable it is. You know, I, I wonder was, has there ever been a moment in your career when you felt. secure as Idris where you are like, all right, no, I'm, I'm, I'm good now. Or is there always that thing, that shadow behind you going, like, you never know Idris, you never know.

- Y you know, it's interesting. 'cause when, when I did the Wire, okay. The Wire was a four year explosion of my life. - Yeah. - Before The Wire, I was literally penniless in, in New York City. And after the while, I was arguably one. of the most famous black actors, at least in, in America. Right. Right. 'cause of my character, stringer Bell, it was so celebrated. And at that time, leaving The Wire because I didn't know I.

- Was gonna die in that. I didn't know my character was gonna die. So Wait, wait, wait. What do you mean. you didn't know he was gonna die? - I didn't know my character was gonna die. until we got the episode. - Wait for real? - Yeah. Yeah. A hundred. That's another story altogether. But damn, it was tough love. But at that time, I was flying high. I mean, I could go anywhere. Like people were comparing me to Dens, you know? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, I was only third season in anyway, when it, when it fell off very quickly, very suddenly.

I remember thinking, oh, I'm good. I'm, I'm string a bell. - Yeah. - And that was a tough pill to swallow, although I did work, but it was not the same. - You see, that's, that's. something I don't even think about. Just my character dying. Like when I'm, when I'm doing, when I'm doing a hosting gig. Yeah. When I'm doing comedy, there's not even a moment. where I think to myself, yep. Someone might surprise me and tell me, Hey, Trevor, after the next ad break, you are no longer the host.

There's a whole, there's a, there's a piano. that's gonna drop on your head and you're gone. - Yeah. - That's, - Yeah. That was, it was a bit like this, you know, that. you usually get your scripts, you know, like two, three, you know, in a row, they write them. - Right. - And I think the way I got it, I got, I got episode seven. I was like, oh, episode seven, I got episode seven. Where's eight? Can I get eight? What's wrong? You, you're not, not, you're not in eight.

What do you mean I'm not in eight? You. should read, you should read it. That's how I kind of found out. I was like, wait, whew, stringer, stringer, stringer stringer. What? And it was crazy. It was like that. That's how I found out. And to your point, you know, it was, it was scary. Yeah. You have, - I I I will say from the outside, at least one. of the most amazing careers in that you,

you've played everything. You play every one. You exist everywhere. Doing everything. Some people want you to be Idris sba, the Action Star. You know what I mean? But then some people go, man, Idris Elba can also be the, the vulnerable love interest. And then obviously, you know, you are in Avengers. You, you know, you, you're out there conquering, fasting, the Furious, et cetera. I know that it wasn't easy, but I wanna know how.

and why you thought you could play something more than the. industry wanted you to play. Because if you're successful as a gangster, Hollywood goes, you're a gangster. And it's not even like a negative thing. Hollywood just goes, we know that you can do this, so you can do this, you do this. - Mm mm - You chose not to do that. Why? - I think I learned early on the power of, no. Like, I, when I, when I moved to America to,

to become an actor there, my career in England wasn't bad. It was good. You know, I. was How, how old were you when you moved? I was probably about 25, 26 years old. Oh, damn. - Okay. - And there was this junction where I said, I'm not gonna do what you want me to do in England. I'm gonna say no and I'm gonna jump ship and go to America. And the power of no was my liberator. 'cause in England there was this definite glass ceiling. You could see it coming. You know, it was like, you're gonna play one kind of role.

And in England it's a smaller market. - Yeah. - Back then, going to America was like, a what? You go where my guy, you all right. Stay here. And so post The Wire, every role. that came my way was all gangsters. - Yeah. - All of them, you know, films, television. And I had to say no. But I was okay with saying no. because I thought, no, I, I've got some range. I need to be able to show that range. And that's, that was definitely,

I dunno, it was, like I said, it was a liberator for me. to be able to know that the power of no is important. - Yeah. But talk me through some of the doubts. You come from the uk. you're doing, you're doing decently there. Right? As it is a small market, but it's a robust market. You know, once you're in, you're working, you're doing things B, B, C, you know, channel four, whatever, you come to the us. It wasn't an overnight thing.

for you though, in the us, was it? - No. - No. I mean, the, the first two. or three years was just flatline. - Because I've, I've heard rumors. of you working at like a comedy club. I remember someone saying this once. Yeah. They were like, I met Idris at a comedy club. And I was like, what do you mean you met. Idris, like doing standup? They're like, no, no. He was working the door. - I wasn't doing standup. I was standing up at the door. That's what I was doing. The original standup. The original standup. - Yeah. But, okay. So talk, talk me through, so. what part of the career is this happening?

And so you've come to the us. - Yeah, I've come. - Yeah. - I, I had some savings. - Yeah. - My wife at the time I was. married, you know, we were young. We were like, let's go to America. Had savings. I was like, power of, no, this is great. We're out here. I didn't work for two years. Damn. Straight, damn, straight. 24 months, no money. And my savings ran out in the first six months. And it was a SRUs.

So, you know, that's where I started to DJ in New York. I brought my records over, literally, I shipped over six crates of records. This is wild. And I moved to New York 'cause I couldn't afford New York. I ended up in Jersey City. And the rent much cheaper. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Bergen have whatever. I reinvented, bro. I was, it was one of these moments where it's like, you, you have to dig in or you are going home. - Yeah. But you, you didn't think of going home six months. in eight months, in 12 months, in 16 months in. No. What, what's, what is keeping you from going.

home during that mo? Like, what is, what is the motivating force in your life. that didn't allow you. to give up? I'm trying to understand that. - I think it was, you know, I, I jumped the ship, man. Like, I had done something, no English, no black actor, no. young man had done that I knew, which is, I'm gonna go. to America and I'm gonna, I'm gonna be an actor over here. And I couldn't take the idea of letting that fail.

I just couldn't, I did not want that to fail. And I was auditioning for a lot of them, but my accent wasn't very good. I couldn't really, you know, pull it off. - How did you get the accent? Good. - Well, - Because you, you have one of the best accents. Your accent is so good. Oh, I've seen people get angry. when they discovered that you're not American. I've seen people get really, like, not even angry. Like they angry that you could fool them to that level. - Yeah. No, I've, I've been in those conversations.

Like, I think the way I got, 'cause I was, I was unemployed bro. And I was living in New Jersey. I lived in Brooklyn for a little bit. I was living life, you know, I was working the door, I was bartending, I was door DJing. And before you know it, you just start speaking like an. American, because you end up saying you're in the ting. You're in the ting. And then, you know, third year in though, it started. to get really struggled. 'cause my wife and I were going through some stuff. She was pregnant. And there's one casting director,

I talk about it all the time. Alexa Fogel. She would put me up for stuff. And she said, Hey, listen. Ah, this wire thing's come up. It's called The Wire. It's a pilot. They're gonna shoot it in January. But if you go in, you cannot let them know you aren't American. 'cause they will not, I mean, this is about Baltimore. It's very specific. They don't want any strangers. I mean, please. So I was auditioning for this thing, and I auditioned for four weeks straight in. an American accent. And then the fourth audition, you know, and the producer, David Simon.

and another producer who's, who's passed now, great guy. They're in the room just like this. And they said to me, Iris, where are you from? - That is the phrase, every immigrant is terrified. of hearing no matter where they are in the world. Excuse me. Where are you. - From? You know when your palm palms start sweating? Yeah. Little sweat preparations in your forage.

And you're like, oh man. And I'm thinking to myself, they told you, don't say nothing. - Yeah. - And I'm thinking, oh, your accent is shit. Oh, you substitute. And I was like, I'm looking at me by, by this time I've known him just for audition. - Yeah. - Hey, you just come on, sit down. We don't you to do the scene again. You know, that kind of thing. I look at him and I said, I, I'm from East London, the room just exploded. Oh my God. I told you no, you didn't know.

You didn't know they. And I'm sitting there, whoa, what, what is going on? It was like, yo, we had a bet. I told, I said that He's not from Baltimore. He's not from Brooklyn, he's from somewhere else. But I thought, maybe Jamaican. Maybe Haitian. You're from England. And this is the conversation. I'm sitting there and they were like, okay, you got the job. You got the job. We, we, we don't want you to play Avon though. We want you to play stringer. belt. And I, and I was in the room. - Oh, mess. So you in for Avon? - Yeah, yeah, yeah. You got the job.

I'll tell Alexa, welcome. Thank you. But wow, you owe me money. I'm walking outta the room. Like, did my life just change? I don't know what's going on. And that was it. That was, - That's the way I got that film. You see, that's, that's what I mean about serendipitous. Like, I love moments like that where now I'm trying. to picture the show with you as Ava. It doesn't work in my head. It's different. It might have worked, it might not. You, you, you, but you know what I mean? - Yeah. - It's. - Just like these, these stories. I love that phrase though. Like, where are you from? Yeah. Because in a way, what you said is, is is.

so much deeper than, than. just you putting on an accent. - Mm. - You lived as an American. Do you know what I'm saying? I, I, I don't think. that's any coincidence. I the fact that you were grinding the fact. that you were working multiple jobs, the fact. that you didn't know what was gonna happen from one. paycheck to the next. The fact that you were, you know, in barber shops. and in comedy clubs and working the bar.

and DJing in, in a, in a really strange way, both sad. and beautiful at the same time. The facts, you were living as an American. - Oh yeah. The, the, the time. that I knew I was American is when I had to go. to the DMV to get my license. Okay bro. Like, if anyone knows what that is, that is like, oh my days. That was one of the most, as soon as I had my life, I was like, yes. You can't tell me none. Because the. - Process, - That's the wild, the process was crazy. - And Oh, no, no.

It's, that's, that's a, that's a rites of passage. I feel like you have not lived in America until you've gone. to the DMV in America. We're gonna continue this conversation right. after this short break. But, but like, but let's talk a little bit about that. Like, where you from, you know, there's a, there's a special connection. I always feel with people who have moved from one place,

especially the place they were born. and lived to another place to try. and do something that requires them to ingratiate themselves. to the people of that place. - You - Know, I, I obviously started my. career in South Africa. South Africa's very similar to the UK in. that we have a small industry, but it works. It's robust, you know, and you do the little that you can. and you, you do it in the. world that they allow you to do it. In going to America was ridiculous in my world. People literally were like, what are you doing? Why? Like, why, why America?

- Mm. - You know? And and what would you say about America? Well, well, well, yeah. You see, my thing was, I was never going for America. I dunno if you can relate to this, but when I, when I look at anything that I'm doing, I try to do it to the best of my ability. and almost to the end of what it is supposed to be. - Right. - So if I'm doing comedy, I do my best. I toured everywhere in South Africa.

I started touring in Southern Africa. So I was in Namibia, I was in Zambia, I was in Botswana. I was doing my comedy everywhere. The natural extension of that comedy is going. to America, right? Because if you want to be one. of the best comedians in the world, you cannot do it without performing at the top. stages. At that level, at the top levels. - Yeah. - I was already performing in the uk, you know, I was doing shows in everywhere from London to Brighton, Newcastle, Liverpool, you name it. Circuit. Yeah. I've been, I've been there. You know.

Oh, you're not, you're not bad, are you, mate? You know what I mean? I've, I've been there, I've been, I was doing it. But the US comes with a, with a different type of pressure, with a different type of landscape. And so I went, I need to go and try this there. And it wasn't about like the bright Lights of America, it was about the natural progression of my, of my career. - Oh, yeah. Yeah. - But then just like you, you now move into a new place where people go, you sound funny. You don't say like, I remember when, when I was, when I was first hosting the Daily Show, no joke.

I thought one of the biggest complaints we'd get would be. about my view on America, or my politics or whatever. The biggest complaint I got was about. how I say the word controversy. and then complaint. Yeah. There was like a big, we, we got letters. We got letters daily. And the producer sat me down at some point. and they were like, Hey, Trav. So there are some words that you say, it's throwing people off a little bit and we understand it. But is there a way you could find a middle ground?

Is there, do, do, do you know what I mean? I had to relearn so many words. Just because you're trying to work within the space. Yeah. You know, and, and in a weird way, it then starts. to redefine who are you? - Yeah. And you are someone else when I. wouldn't say you're someone else. Right. Because you always take your roots with you. If you're rooted. If you're. - A rooted person, - You take that with you. Right. But a adaptation definitely. You know? Yeah. And I, and I think that's, it's not for everyone, you. - Know, like Yeah.

There's new parts of you definitely. A. - Hundred percent. You know, it's kind of like, I had. what I call an accent crisis. I had a crisis of accent. 'cause when I came out of the wire, and, you know, if I was going to a party. or whatever, I was doing an interview or something, and I talked the way I talked, they'd be like, yo, why are you talking like that man? No, for real though. Why? What you doing a part? What you doing man? And you like, you're like, you try. to figure out if you want friction. Right? That's how I talk. No, seriously. Yeah. They would almost feel like, yo, you, you, you,

you got me, man. Like, yeah, you string a bell. You come from this. Yeah. And 'cause of the wire especially was not a satire. These were based on a real culture, real epidemic, if you like, of American underbelly. They took to my characters, to the point where I had. to hold myself Idris a certain way in definitely. amongst the African American community. - Right. - I had to hold myself with the, the sort.

of respect almost they had for string a bell. - Yeah. - Which was a man trying to do good. Yeah. A man trying to do better than he was, you know, being prescribed to do. Wow. And that really was interesting. What that did to me as a did for my confidence, did for my, when I went back to England, going back to England. and people were like, yo, why are you talking like that? And I just found myself, you know, when you know you're your England. or in South Africa, Americans. come over, they just got so much. - Confidence. Yeah, yeah,

- Yeah. Bigger and brasher and Yeah. You know, and they, and, and they got that diff they believed they got. that different, and I went back to England and I, and I definitely felt like, oh wow, I have adapted myself. Even when I was in my mom. and dad's household with my boys, they were like, yo, you, you seem a bit different. You seem a bit happier. You. - Seem a little more enthusiastic. That's one thing I've learned about the uk. There's a little bit of like, alright, all right then. Alright, then turn it down a bit. Relax, slow it down. Oh yeah, yeah. Relax. You're doing all, you're doing alright.

Yeah. It wasn't, it wasn't bad. Wasn't not, yeah. It wasn't bad. Yeah. Humble. - It's, it's the tall poppy syndrome. - It really is. - I think that's part. of the reasons why I didn't audition well. Because I couldn't walk in there. and be like, bow, this should be mine. They'd be like, oh, Idris, that was a good take. Can you do another one? I'd be like, oh, did you like it? Oh, great. Okay. I, I'll try again then. Oh wait, the other guy like, you like that. Okay, hold up. Wait till you see this one. - You know, that wasn't me. You know, it's funny, culturally, I remember when I first started doing standup.

comedy in the us the, you, you understand this, in America, they would have what they call the urban rooms. And then rooms. Right. What that means is these are rooms. where black people watch black comedy. And then the rest of the rooms are just, I guess, regular comedy. I always found that weird. 'cause I've, I come from a country that's predominantly black. and we never looked at it like that. So anyway, they go, you know, people would be like, oh, you gotta go perform in urban rooms. Go and do some urban rooms. And so I get to these urban rooms.

and you know, it's black comedians, black audiences. And I would get on stage. and in South Africa, number one, Africa, you greet. So I'd walk out, I'd greet the audience, good evening, everybody, you know? And that audience would stare at me. And I remember after one of the shows, one. of my favorite people in the world, his name is, his name's Chris Spencer, comedian, really like a, like a like a mentor to me in the game. He came to me after one of the shows. and he's like, he's like, Hey man. He's like, did you steal something?

And I said, what do you mean? He's like, he's like, man, you walk on stage like you stole something. He's like, man, you gotta get on there. You gotta own that stage, baby, man. You walking on there like, like you ain't supposed to be there. You start making the audience doubt themselves, man. They be looking at you like you supposed to be there. We don't feel like you're supposed to be there. He's like, man, you gotta get up there. And I was like, well, that's not how we do. He's like, well, that's how we do it baby. He's like, you gotta understand. He's like half so true. He's like half those people in the audience. They're funnier than you. They know they're funnier than you. So you better show them why you up there. You better show them why you're up there. And he like, it was a beautiful way, you know, when you connect those things, you, you,

you know, you, you find. - That's funny. - I, I'd love to know like, you know, in that, what is it. that's inspired you. to connect all of these parts of yourself? Because you, you, you're not just Idris Alba, the movie star in Hollywood. I've always loved how you have bigged up the UK at every. opportunity that you've been given. You've also big up African Americans at every. opportunity you've been given. You've, you've, you've adopted these communities. And one that always touches me, obviously is Africa. Idris Alba doesn't like wave at Africa from far, my man,

your passport is stamped, your passport is full. of full jo of. - Rice. You was gonna say that. Oh no, it's full, full, full. Do you know, so two things. that were quite significant, right? To, I guess who I am today is one, my mom. told me that her, my mom was born in Ghana. - Yeah. - Okay. Her mom has gone in,

but her dad was a second World war vet. from Kansas City. And on his deployment back to the states, he heard. that yo segregation over here is still kicking it. I mean, in the army, you know, there was segregation, but everyone was fighting for each other. Right. Soldiers were going back to the states. and told you can't come in the restaurant. - Yeah. - So he said he. and his brother decided they're gonna go to Africa. They went to Ghana and that's where he had 11 children.

My mom being the ninth, the last one. Wow. So that information came to me just. before I then went to America. And I kind of went with a slightly different purpose. I was kind of like, oh, wait, what? Oh, I've got roots here. Then I, I mean, I belong here kind of thing, right? Yeah. The second thing is that I, at some point in my later life, I, I was probably about 29 or so, I took my DNA test. I knew my mom had a American father,

but my dad's from Sierra Leone, very proud. Sierra Leone, Ghana. DNA. No, Sierra Leonian. Wait, what? No, 10% Ghana, 10% Nigerian, 20% Bantu, 25% Togo, 5% Senegalese, Cameroonian. I mean, it was a map, right? I looked at this thing like, what is going on? Bantu being the south southern African tribe. Yeah. That's, that's my, my side of the world. that traveled up Prince.

Huh. So I looked at this thing, right? And I was like, what the took it again? Same thing. You took it again. Yeah, - I - Did. I I was like, - I, sorry. I always find it funny when people do the same thing twice, hoping for a different result. I don't know why I find that so funny. DNA test. But I love the idea that you're like, hold. on, hold on, let's try this again. You, and then you're like, and this time I'm going. to push certain puzzle myself. I'm gonna bring out certain parcel myself. - I ate before I took it. I, I jo I was like, no, hold on. I've got, what.

- Were you hoping to get the second time. - Round? Well, my mom said to me, I told her about this. She said, ah, Kuna k Kuna, that is all money making you. How much would you pay? How much would you pay? I told her, she like, you see, to come. and tell you that you're not from Sierra Leon, your dad is from Sierra Leon, your mom is from Ghana. I'm like, yeah, but mom, scientifically, you know, like, that's not how it works. Una una listen. Anyway, so I did it again. I didn't even tell her the results the second time around.

But this is, this was me. and I just found myself like, not questioning, but I was like, wow. I'm, I'm African. - Yeah man. - I am from this continent. And it also reminded me that everywhere I go in Africa, probably a bit like you too. Right? People claim you. Yeah. Ah, in beautiful way. Ah, they claim you. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? You are resident now. You know what I mean? Wherever I go. And I just, I guess I adopted that. So now as a, you know, I'm in the public eye.

and people, you know, talk to me about where I'm from. I have a real rich backstory. It's beautiful. I'm talk about my granddad. I can talk about my, my, my, you know, Freetown, Sierra Leone was the home of the return slaves. No wonder, no wonder my DNA doesn't say Yeah, Freetown Sierra Leone. because my, my dad's DNA is probably mixed from. so many different types of tribes. You know? So, so that has been the very.

feeling I have every time I open my. mouth about where I'm from. - Yeah. - I'm from England. I was born and raised there. I'm proud of that. But out of that comes this sort of, I I'm an explorer, you know, I'm an explorer of myself. I'm an explorer of the cultures that I'm from. and I've been, I remember, man, I, I think we talked about this, but when I got to play Nelson Mandela. - Oh yeah. Yeah. - Do you know when it hit the news in South Africa, it was polarizing.

People are like, this guy can't play. He's obviously West African. What are you talking about? He's not closer. How's he doing? Yeah. Yeah. Play Nelson. Okay. He's tall, but what are you joking? Like? And others were like, no, fantastic. They got a Hollywood actor to play a great man. Right, right. It was just really, and I, I remember thinking, wow. I never really thought about it until, well, no, look, no. At the time I said, dude, this is the first thing I said.

I said, Nelson's light-skinned. My agent is South African. He's like, it just, it just, it just, it just listen. Don't ever repeat that. Okay. Don't, just don't, just don't repeat that. I was like, no, but seriously man, what are gonna say? Like, what is South Africans gonna say? And then he said to me, remember when you took your DNA test, what happened? I went, yeah, you're African baby. You're African and so is Nelson.

So just go and kick the shit outta this role. - Right. - And I remember doing this one scene. It was in Soweto. and it was one of the scenes when Nelson was a lawyer. Beginnings of his rallying, you know, and for the, for the a NC and a NC. Yeah. Really early parts. And he was in Soweto, beautiful suit lawyer, the part in, you know, boxer radical guy, you know, small sua of guy. And the director did not want me to come out and rehearse.

He just wanted me to be ready. He had four cameras, 700. extras in just you coming. out Soto. You know what what I mean. - Young - People. But, - So he wants you to come out and just do the speech. as if you were doing the speech. Exactly. There is no doing a speech twice and. - We're gonna shoot it. Yeah. I just wanna see what happens. I was back there like this boy, oh my God, I'm gonna get booed. I'm gonna get booed. It was almost exactly. what Nelson probably had to go through at the time.

- Oh yeah. - Which is, who's this guy, this lawyer coming out here talking all this shit? Is it crazy? I came out there, man, first thing I heard, I even heard someone say, is that string up there, that doing up there. Right. Another one said, that's the guy from Daddy's little girls. I could hear them. They were, I was, that is. so doing my speech. So everyone knows everything you've been in. Yeah. But he says how he's playing madiba first take mind. you, they're staring at me. And this is exactly what,

because at the Times Soweto was like, boy, we're not sure if we're gonna, there was people listening. They're like, are we gonna stand for this? Stand with this guy? 'cause this guy is. trying to get us all in trouble. He is talking some radical shit. - Yeah. - And here I was out here playing Nelson. dark as you can get, hitting the accent, hitting the notes, hitting the beats. And, and I never forget about it. because it's quite emotional rousing speech. By the end of the, the first tape, man, I was in tears,

practically the first five rows. of people in tears with me. And we're talking about freeing Africans. - Yeah. - From the bullshit, freeing them. And man, it was like, it was just the craziest mishmash of all of it. You know, me as an actor, who am I? Where am I from? Should I be here? Do I have the right to play the big man?

Then this young, these young people who know Idris, who have celebrated Idriss career are watching me polarized. by Can he pull off Maddis? - Yeah. - And then of course, slowly growing into it. with you slowly grow into it with me at the same time, Maddis at the time, slowly winning the people over the community over into. his rhetoric. So it was a fascinating man. So it's quite how you, how do you, how you, how. - Did you keep, because Nelson Mandela has one.

of the most difficult accents to pull off. Yeah. How do you, how did you keep that in the, can you still do it till this day? 'cause you have so many accents. You have like different English accents. You've got different American accents. You've got at the SAG awards. I, I don't know. where you pulled out a Robert De Niro from, I'm not even joking. That was one of the most impressive world. 'cause when, when you started, I was like, well, you can't do Robert Dero. You, you're massive. It's like, look at your size. Look at Robert de yo, you became Robert De Niro. You even became a little lighter. I dunno how you did it.

Like your skin tone changed. You became lighter, you became smaller. I'm not even, yo, that was good. I'll take you that. I'll that No, but I'll be for real though. How do you, how long do you hold onto them for like, how do, do you, do you keep them forever. or do they like slip in time? - It's funny when you said earlier you have one. of the best American accents. Like, I disagree. I, I'm, if I'm in a role, I'm in a role. And at that time I can do it. because I guess I've gotta live it. - Yeah, yeah. - As close to the honesty of it as I can. But if you ask me to do it now, if you ask me. to do mad deep now it sound like an impression.

- Oh, that makes can't, okay. Okay. - I can't, like, even when I'm just joking around. and doing American accents, I just, they're not on point. - Because it's not the exact same. - Not the same thing. But 'cause. - Well, Nelson, I find I, I never lose my Nelson Mandela. I always, I just, I like, there'll be days. where I just do it for no reason. I'm, I'm being serious. I'll literally just like be. walking around in my room. Just kidding. And I'll just be like, never forgot. Boss Purple. It's just like, it's in the, I actually use,

I use my Nelson Mandela to get to my Barack Obama. - Okay. - Because I find they have the same, my conspiracy theory is that Mandela taught. Obama how to do it. Because the cadence, they got the same. Yeah. Because they got the same thing. 'cause like, you know, because Mandela has the hyper lift all South Africans. Oh, must fight for this country has got that thing. Right. And then Barack, if you take, it's a natural, it's the natural progression of that Right. Hyper lift where can come pro. And as Americans, we gotta try to, you know,

it's a stronger voice. It has a lot of, but when, whenever I lose it, I have to go back. to Mandela 'cause of Man Mandela. You know? Know what I mean? Right, right, right. As Americans, as Americans, we gotta find our way. to believe in ourselves. It's the same. - Likes in there. I'm fighting every impulse to challenge you to a Barack. and a Mandela right now. Why don't we. - Do it? No, because, because what, what's gonna happen? Because you're just gonna murder. me. I don't believe that. That's. - True. - I don't believe that. That's - True. - Do you, do you Mandela I'll even like, it'll be like a harmony,

- Trevor, - When you are doing. - Mandela, there's got to be. a very, you, you see you killing him. This guy just pulled it out. But. - When it's Barack, - There's gotta be. a No. That's terrible. - No, but you barak you know. why? 'cause you, you, you, because I. - I took it up. - Yeah. No, chesty chesty Barak is also, he's also through. But Yo Mandel, that was flawless. I was almost doing like Mandela, like you hear him on the radio under broadcast.

Yes. Mandela pitches up. Yes, he does pitch up. Yeah. It's, it's funny you say the thing about like, knowing yourself and the pieces of yourself. I I I, I wonder if. that's what's made you such an amazing actor, is. that like you have been forced in life to discover the parts. of yourself as a real character that makes you who you are. - Yeah. - Do you know what I mean? And I feel like all. great actors will tell you that they have.

to know all the parts that make the character who they are. - Hmm. - What would you say you've brought from your. life into acting? And what would you say that acting has brought into your. life the other way around? - I, I would say that in the, the maturity of any actor. Unless, unless you're a child actor. and you win out your first audition and you're a star. - Yeah. - But the maturity of an actor is a patient game. You know, you kiss a lot of frogs, a lot of auditions. Hmm.

Lot of nos before you get that. Yes. Okay. Lot of rejection. Hmm. I've had some really challenging moments in my life, and I definitely know as an actor, we have to have thick skin. You have to go through some stuff. that actually is traumatizing for you. Right. You know, when you play a role like Luther. for example, he sees a lot of murder, destruction, blabla.

I go in, I play that role, and I play it to all of my ability. But my body doesn't actually know I'm acting. That's the thing people take for granted, I think. Right. You know, so when I'm crying or the trauma, or I'm yelling, or I'm, my head's about to blo explode. It's great acting. It's great. But actually my body doesn't know the. difference. What do you. - Do to get back to Idris. and how do you work on releasing that from you as a person? - At first thing is to acknowledge that. you know, you're acting bro.

- Yeah. - It's not real. Go do something for yourself. Go yourself. Good. Go. Oh, nice. Take some therapy. Like, - Okay. - All of that has helped me become, I think, a better human being. Because I, I know my bo I, I'm. so dedicated to my characters. Yeah. That I, I know I need to be dedicated to Idris. as well, which is where the DJing, where the, you know, the philanthropy where, you know the, oh, I love that. Other parts come. - So that's all, that's all for you. - Yeah. That, - That's you. Because I've seen people ask.

many times, they will say, what are you doing, man? You've worked so hard to climb the mountain. That is Hollywood. You have broken through so many barriers. And then mans turns around and says he's a DJ. and he's making music. and he's taking a step back from acting. And he's. - Mm. - But I've seen you on the decks. You are having the time of your life. - Mm. - But I didn't know that you were doing it for you. I, I thought, I thought you were looking. for another challenge or another. thing. But this, that's like. - You, it's I need it.

I need the balance. I need the, the natural juices that come from that. - What, what is it, what is it about DJing in in particular? - It's, I used to dj, so I wanna know what you, for me it's, there's a really beautiful energy sweet point. Right. It's like when you make some, when you make a whole room laugh with one gesture. - Yeah. - That absolute pinnacle moment is an. energy that you can't replicate. And it's like when you mix two songs together. and the crowd go, ah, that you can't,

I can't get that from acting. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. - You know, so, but when you dj you do anything like that, that feel, that feeling is real. And that energy that I get from doing. that is like rejuvenating. It's like, that's the stuff, that's the stuff my. batteries are really made of. You know what I'm saying? So I do it for the, I do those, I do all these different things for therapy. Yeah. Because I really do commitment to my roles. You know what I mean? In a way that my body doesn't know. - How long have you been been DJing for? When did you start? - I started when I was 13. - 13. - 13. Yeah. - On like actual, that's actual records,

- Right? Actual DJing. Yeah. That's actual, actual old school. I was there when sort of hiphop kind of. - Began. What were you like? Hiphop? - Hiphop was 50, 50 - Years. - So I was kind of there in the UK buying records, the first hip hop records. Like, yo, what is this sound? Yeah. - What, what were your decks? Were you like sl 12. hundreds? What were you using back then? - No man. No Citro belt drive. Oh my goodness. You know the, oh my goodness.

- That's where you have to, you have. to let the vinyl go at the right speed. Otherwise it's like, I love it when you call me big rah. You gotta, you gotta be so careful. with those when you let them go. Oh, bad. - And the needle's like, really? - Oh, it's always ready to skip. Always ready. Did you ever play gigs where you would put the, you put the needle on the record? Yeah. And then someone bumps something. or the crowd like jumps and then you playing. It's going well, it's going well. Everyone's having a good time. Jump around, jump, jump, jump, jump.

And the crowd looks at you like, you did it now. 'cause the, oh man, those were the days. - Those were really the days. I forgot. you DJ'ed You told me. How long have you been DJing? - So I DJ'ed for, oh goodness. I started straight off, straight off to high school. I, I was making music on a pc, so I was playing. with everything from Yeah. From mixing the music to Fruity Loops. and, you know, pro tools. and trying to play around with that stuff. A friend saw me doing it. He said, yo, you should come and DJ for people.

I was like, I don't do that. He said, no, you do. Just, just come and do it. And I would sit there. Yo, when I tell you I was the biggest nerd, I would come there with a full PC rig. It's not sexy. Like now with a laptop. and you've got your no peace. I'm talking like a full on, you remember like the, that cream colored Yeah. Screen with the big plastic. Yeah. Yeah. The big. - Box. Yeah. - I've come there looking like I'm about. to set up somebody's network. I put that stuff down. This is in the hood, by the way, proper in the hood. And people are looking at me and they, and people would come. and be like, sorry, where's, who's the dj?

And I'm like, I'm the dj. And they go, where's, where's your, where's your 10 table? And I said, no, I use a computer. And they're like, for music? And I was like, yeah. And you could see their faces go like, oh, this is not gonna end well. This is not gonna end well. Yo. And then I would play that, that was me. And I would just sit there mixing songs. for like six hours live. Really? Yeah. Because you could have. that much music and I would play everything. I would go, you'd start off with like, you know, I'd start off with like slow BPMs.

I'd be in like the seventies, eighties warming things up. It'd be like jagged edge and all of that. Get to like 94 bpm, move things up. - Okay. - Yeah. And then at some point I'd. like warm it up, warm it up. We get to like hip hop midnight, we'd start playing house. Yeah. Try and get to like one 20 bpm, you know, get people moving and then you bring. it back down on the other side. I love, I loved it. I loved it. What. - Was your DJ name? - I did, I never got one. - Okay. - What was yours? N Knuckles nickname was, - Nah, so, so it started off as my mom gave me this one. Your mom gave you a DJ name? Yeah, it was Eriko.

Oh, that's not bad actually. Eriko. That's not bad. Really? I don't, that's. - Bad. - Because I used to play for my. parents whenever they had parties. Yeah. And playing record. - Eriko. I don't think that's bad at all. I thought you were gonna be like dj. Cute boy. No, dj my special child. I thought it would be something like, I don't think of an. African mom, but Eriko Wass Dope. - Eriko was the first one. And then it went from that to Kipling. Mr. Kipling. - Ah, Mr. Kipling. - Yeah. Mr.

- Kipling. I like that. - Kippers. - What? Do you have one now? - No, it's just Idris. - Just Idris is a nice one. - No, just, just Idris. - Yeah, just Idris is a great DJ name. It's just Idris on the decks. I like that. - No, no, no. Idris you're saying just. Idris. Just, just saying. - Yeah. Just Iris. - Yeah. - Don't go anywhere. 'cause we got more. What now after this,

we got Idris, the actor Idris, the DJ. Idris the, i I, I say this, and I don't say this lightly. I think the world builder, - You, - You have a, you have a statesman vibe to you. And I've, I've seen you with people like you, you want. to create, you wanna build, you want to grow. Like, when you look at the world you're in now, first. of all, where do you, where do you see the states.

of Hollywood and acting and, and content. and everything right now? Because it's definitely changing. - Mm. - You can't deny it. I mean, some would even argue you're the last, you know, the last. of the, of the superstars of like the real Hollywood, you know, it's No, no, really, it's, it's, it's changing. I think it's becoming a lot more niche. And, and you could see at the SAG awards people talking. about this, people saying, you know, I, I played this role. I got to do that. This is what my dream was. This is how I am. I got to do this for the first time.

I got to play this type of character. when nobody said I could. What excites you about the industry right now? And and where do you still wanna see the industry. grow, grow and change? - You know, the, our industry has taken on incredible change shape. shifting over the last, I'd say 10 years. And it sort of, sort of began really slowly. with this conversation around diversity, around.

our societies, looking like the TV shows we were watching. and seeing that it wasn't, and then peeling the onion back even further. and seeing that there wasn't very much equality within it, behind the scenes. So, you know, the sort of gender. debate Yeah. Springing into action. Me too. And all this. So over the last 10 years, we've seen an industry.

that's gone through, I think a very healthy health check. You know what I mean? Checking. itself, you know what I'm saying? There's a history that essentially rewarded people. for bad behavior. Suddenly said enough of that in a healthy way. Okay. Alongside that though, came this sort. of interesting expansion with the digital era. Just more, you know, I mean, I come from a period. where in England there's four or five channels.

- Yeah. - Okay. And you watched one of those five. That was it. That was it. You were lucky if you got cable. or Sky tv. Okay. You were lucky. And then we're in an era now. where you literally can watch anything from anywhere in the. world on your phone. - Yeah. - And what that's done. for our industry is expanded it, but also somehow restricted it a little bit. because the metrics of. how you get a show made now are different. - Yeah. - You know what I'm saying?

It's like, I think that you, to your point, you know, there, there's, there's niche micro Yeah. It, it seems like it's groups that started to emerge now. So it's very rare now to have one actor be a star. or an entire generation. Yeah. That's, you know, weirdly enough, I feel like Africa is, you know, the continent. of Africa still has the opportunity. to have the most incredible movie film. industry in the world.

- Your eyes light up when you say that. Oh yeah, man. For real. Your eyes. - Yeah. - I feel like you wanna. be at the forefront of that. - I, I wanna be at the foundation of it. We want Trevors, we want irises, and we want them to be the biggest stars they can be. Because in that part of the world, we haven't had that opportunity. There's 1.4 billion people there and there's 4,000 cinemas. What, How are we getting our stories? You know, I think about our industry with a sort. of opto futurist perspective. Hmm. Because as much as I've worked gladly.

for 30, 35 years in, you know, in America. and England, I've had most incredible opportunities. And Korea, I still think I've got more to offer. And when I think about Africa, you know, when we saw. what happened with the Black Panther. and the sort of Afrofuturism world was sort. of really exploding. Everyone was like, whoa, whoa. What is this? This is incredible. That was a moment where you're saying, yeah, you know, it albeit Marvel. But it was a moment where the world sort of stood up.

and was like, oh, wait a second. There's, there's African superstars. - What? Yeah. Yeah. - Wait, there's African sci-fi. What? And just imagine what that could do, you know? And it does make me excited. - W what what's your dream? I I ask everyone on the podcast What now? Because I find whenever I meet people, they're always at an inflection point. Something's about to happen or something has happened. and now they're moving on, or they're. thinking of the next step.

You are constantly moving towards the next step, you know? And, and in a really peaceful way, I might add, you know, it's, it's always been fun to watch the. way, the way you move. You seem both grateful. and also still hungry, which is a, which is a hard balance to find. So, so what now what do you dream of in your world? You know, if you could, if you could wave your magic wand, what would Idris be doing for the next decade? - If I could wave my magic wand, it would be, I would.

be part of it. The African film industry's growth. - Yeah. - Seeing studios, seeing African streaming companies, seeing producers, you know, live on the international stage. while bringing collaborators into the continent. I love that. As well as col. sending out stories internationally. You know, that would be, I would sit as a.

performer, as a director, as a producer, as a, a vessel in that, you know, in that dream. I love that. That's what I would do. I mean, you know, I'm, I, I I really appreciate your words, man, because you say quietly, and I take that to mean humbly. You know, I'm humbly appreciative. of the opportunities I have. I'm humbly respectful that I've been invited to this opia. to come and talk about this dream. and that I could possibly raise some partnerships for it.

So it's an exciting time. I'm hoping that one day you and me make a movie together. Hey. All right. Real. - Talk. All right. - I think that the world should. - See that we can play. It'll be a, a buddy cop movie, the two Mandela's. Fre. I said Fre. He also said Fre. What he means is fries. - He's saying fries, but it's fries. That's a terrible, I think France. - 'cause Mandela never said fries. Oh man.

I can see the movie now. A human Mandela's fighting crime. We would lock you up, but we believe in Fredom. So you can go Idris. Alba, Trevor, Noah, Mandela, Mantu. I think we could do it. I think we could do it actually. Mandela Mantu. I think we should do it. We should. I think we could writer. Yo man, thank you. so much for, for joining me. Thanks for having me, man. Always. Thanks. Anytime. Anytime.

What now? With Trevor Noah is produced. by Spotify Studios in partnership with Day zero Productions. and Full Wealth 73. The show is executive produced by Trevor Noah, Ben Winston, son Yamen, and Jody Agan. Our senior producer is Jess Hackle. Marina Henke is our producer, music mixing. and mastering by Hannahs Brown. Thank you so much for listening. Join me next Thursday.

for another episode of What Now?