Idris Elba Went From Selling Weed To Playing A Drug Lord On ‘The Wire’

Idris Elba may be one of Hollywood's hottest actors after starring as Stringer Bell on "The Wire" and winning a Golden Globe for his hit crime drama "Luther," but his path to fame wasn't a smooth one.

The actor opens up to GQ Magazine about his rough time finding work and acting in New York City.

"I was DJ'ing, but I was also pushing bags of weed; I was doing my work," Elba, 41, said. "I had to. I know that sounds corny, but this is the truth."

The "Mandela" actor - potentially looking ahead to another promising award season for his role in the upcoming biopic - revealed that while selling marijuana and working as a doorman at Carolines comedy club, he brushed past famous comedians like Dave Chappelle and D.L. Hughley.

"All those black comedians, they knew me as a doorman," he said.
"The celebration of having a son - from a man's perspective, it's massive," he said. "It wasn't immediately obvious - well, it was, because he didn't look like me. … To be given that and then have it taken away so harshly was like taking a full-on punch in the face."

"Even admitting it, I'll probably get laughed at for the rest of my life," he added. "But it is just tragic, and it happened. ... It happened to me. I moved on."

His rebound was a new show, the actor explained.

"'Luther' came at a time where, you know, it was gaga therapy for me, man," he said.







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