Idris Elba Eyes a Future Behind the Camera: “Eventually I Want to Direct Fully”
Idris Elba is ready for a new chapter.
During a candid Q&A at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, the acclaimed British actor revealed that his days in front of the camera may soon be winding down.
Elba, who was at the festival to promote Dust To Dreams, his second directorial effort following 2018’s Yardie, shared his desire to step away from acting to focus fully on directing.
“I’m hoping that my fan base as an actor isn’t mad at me,” Elba said, reported by the Dail Mail. “But eventually I want to transfer to be a director fully.”
The short film Dust To Dreams centers on a shy young woman in Lagos who inherits her late mother’s struggling nightclub, only to be reunited with her estranged father, played by Grammy-winning artist Seal.
“I’ve been acting for a long time. I love it still,” he continued, “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.”
While Elba has captivated audiences for decades with roles in The Wire, Luther, and blockbuster hits like Beasts of No Nation and The Suicide Squad, he’s becoming increasingly drawn to work that lives beyond entertainment.
“I’ve found myself feeling like an imposter in the political arena,” he admitted. “I’ve found myself in arenas with heads of states and ministers talking about things that are way above my pay grade.”
Though he has no intentions of becoming a politician, Elba is seriously considering studying human science to be more effective in his philanthropic and advocacy work.
“I often feel like I am just living off my instinct rather than my knowledge,” he said. “I’d like to maybe study that so that I can be more effective when it comes to some of the philanthropy work I’ve been doing and some of the activism work.”
Elba has been vocal about investing in Africa’s creative economy, particularly in media, fashion, music, and storytelling.
“There’s a huge opportunity to be more developed. I’m really interested in that,” he said. “Rather than just speak about the infrastructure, I’m looking at the policy that supports it.”
Still, fans of Elba’s iconic role as DCI John Luther can breathe a small sigh of relief. A second Luther movie is reportedly in the works, a sequel to Luther: The Fallen Sun, which premiered on Netflix two years ago.
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