Idris Elba Recalls Being Held At Gunpoint While Trying To Stand Up For Someone’s Girlfriend

Idris Elba says that he once was held at gunpoint by a man after trying to protect their wife during a domestic dispute. He recalled the incident during an interview with the SmartLess podcast published Tuesday.

“I nearly lost my fucking life after attempting to stop a man threatening his girlfriend outside a club,” Elba shared, as noted by the Daily Mail. “A guy [was] whaling on his missus, screaming in her face, ‘I’ll fucking kill you,’ and so on. I come round and I go, ‘Look how beautiful she is. Why would you talk to this beautiful princess like that?’”

Read More: Idris Elba Says He Doesn’t Want To Be Referred To As A “Black Actor”

Idris Elba With JAY-Z

LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 06: Jay-Z – Shawn Carter, and Idris. Elba attend “The Harder They Fall” World Premiere during the 65th B.F.I. London Film Festival at The Mayfair Hotel on October 06, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)

“He pulled out a gun, stuck it right in my face, and goes, ‘You talking about my girl?’ He thought I was trying to hit on her,” the Luther actor explained. “I remember thinking, ‘Don’t play negotiations like that… Consequences, man.’” Elba didn’t go into further details about where the incident took place nor how the situation de-escalated from there.

Elsewhere in the conversation, Elba discussed how he ended up playing a DJ set at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding in May 2018. He says that he was performing at various clubs at the time when one night he ran into Harry. “I was DJ-ing in all these clubs where [Prince] Harry would show up and he was like, ‘Yo!’ and I’m like, ‘Yo!’. And then at one point he was like, ‘Listen man, I’m getting married’. I was like, ‘Yo! That’s amazing,’” Elba explained. “He goes, ‘I want you to DJ’… I was like, ‘I don’t do requests!’”

Fans of Elba’s will be able to catch him in the upcoming Paramount+ animated series Knuckles. It’s a spin-off from Sonic the Hedgehog 2, in which he voiced the title character from the new series. It is expected to premiere later this year.

Read More: Idris Elba Explains Why He’s Not Interested In Playing James Bond

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Idris Elba Explains Why He’s Not Interested In Playing James Bond

Playing James Bond is considered one of the most prestigious roles in Hollywood. Just seven actors have played the iconic British spy since he was brought to the big screen in 1962. When each Bond retires, there is a wave of speculation on who might play him next. Given his veteran presence in the acting world, Idris Elba has not been immune to this speculation.

After Daniel Craig made it clear that he was done with Bond after SPECTRE, Elba’s name was one of several seen as a serious contender to fill the role. While Craig would return for No Time To Die, Elba was still viewed as a favorite to take up the mantle in the future. However, in a new interview with the SmartLess podcast, Elba has explained why he’s no longer interested in playing 007.

Racism Steered Elba Away From Bond

Idris Elba at the 2023 Met Gala
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 01: Idris Elba attends the 2023 Met Gala Celebrating “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty” at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 01, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)

Elba was initially excited about the speculation. “The truth is, I was super complimented for a long time about this,” Elba admitted. “I was like, ‘This is cr*zy!’ James Bond…We’re all actors and we understand that role. It’s one of those coveted [roles]. Being asked to be James Bond was like, ‘Ok, you’ve sort of reached the pinnacle’. That’s one of those things the whole world has a vote in.” However, the subsequent racist backlash inevitably moved Elba away from playing the character. “Essentially, it was a huge compliment that every corner of the world except from some corners, which we will not talk about, were really happy about the idea that I could be considered,” Elba explained.

“Those that weren’t happy about the idea made the whole thing disgusting and off-putting, because it became about race. It became about nonsense and I got the brunt of it.” Elba’s views were somewhat validated by the latest Bond film to date, No Time To Die. The film, which featured Lashana Lynch as an MI6 agent who is briefly assigned the 007 moniker, received considerable backlash from those same people about making James Bond a black woman (which the film doesn’t do in the slightest).

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