Idris Elba GQ 2013: 'The Wire' & 'Long Walk to Freedom' Actor Sold Drugs & Fathered Child That Wasn't His
Before Idris Elba became a notable face in Hollywood, the actor was doing some illegal business.
When asked if he was able to relate to his past role as Russell Stringer Bell on HBO's The Wire, Idris admitted he could.
"I mean, I was DJ'ing, but I was also pushing bags of weed; I was doing my work. I had to. I know that sounds corny, but this is the truth," he told GQ of his past in the October 2013 issue.
He also said that he'd sell drugs at Carolines, a New York City comedy club where he worked as a doorman. Elba said comedians like D.L. Hughley and Dave Chappelle were regulars there.
His past drug dealing wasn't the only issue he opened up about. The 41-year-old actor discussed a painful moment he endured in 2010. During the promotion of his film The Losers that year, Elba boasted about a newborn son. However, he later found out that the kid wasn't his.
"The celebration of having a son-from a man's perspective, it's massive," the Luther star said. "To be given that and then have it taken away so harshly... was like taking a full-on punch in the face: POW."
However, he didn't let the moment tear him down.
"You know, the truth is-like, even admitting it, I'll probably get laughed at for the rest of my life. But it is just tragic, and it happened," he also said. "But I wasn't knocked out. I stood right the f--k back up, and I ain't aiming to take another punch in the face ever again. Do you understand what I'm saying? It happened to me. I moved on."
The actor will play Nelson Mandela in the biographical film Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom. The movie comes to U.S. theaters on Nov. 29.
