Idris Elba plans to “eventually” step away from acting to pursue a full-time career as a director, per film-news.co.uk.
The 53-year-old actor and rapper is looking ahead to a future focused entirely on working behind the camera, a transition he hopes his fan base will support.
Speaking at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia, where he was promoting his recent directorial effort, the short film Dust To Dreams, Elba shared his intentions.
“I’m hoping that my fan base as an actor isn’t mad at me,” he said. “Eventually, I want to transfer to be a director fully.”
The Luther star, whose extensive filmography includes over 100 acting credits in major productions like The Wire, The Suicide Squad, and Thor, noted he has 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,” he explained. “I really enjoy it.”
Elba, who made his feature directorial debut with Yardie in 2018, also provided new details about his next film as director, “This Is How It Goes,” an adaptation of Neil LaBute’s 2005 play.
He has significantly transposed the original story. “The original is about a Black man married to a white woman, and a white man comes to move into their house,” he revealed. “I bought the rights to the film and transposed the story, so it’s a white man married to a Black woman, and a Black man comes to live in their house.”
The director described the project, which wrapped production in Ghana last week, as “an incredible examination of marriage, trust and race.”
