I'm never shaken or stirred.

Television is where I cut my teeth.

I tend to stay away from the comics.

I try to fit in workouts whenever I can.

I would never be fearful of any character.

The less I talk about being black, the better.

In some countries, no one knows who Idris Elba is.

I wasn't bad at school, but I was never a bookworm.

Every single film I've done, it's about the character.

The audience loves it when you pay attention to details.

Waking up in TRUTH is so much better than living in a lie.

Africans, we hold on to our youths and whip them into shape.

People watch three or four episodes at a time of their shows.

My Father always told me that a fool at 40 is a fool for life.

You watch yourself age and it's hard to feel like a sex symbol.

Twenty or 30 years from now, I'm going to be on a beach in Jamaica.

I love to play different roles. That's just the kind of actor I am.

I've been DJing mostly, and most DJs end up producing. That's just me.

It's actually quite criminal how 'The Wire' was systematically ignored.

I was in The Wire for three years, and I left at the highlight of that.

I've never had to explain Prometheus to people, ever. Most people get it.

Not obsessed with particularly Nike, but sneakers in general. I love them.

I've never had to explain 'Prometheus' to people, ever. Most people get it.

Whether it's music or acting, that creativity all comes from the same source.

The directors [who know every detail] make films that are complete, basically.

There has been a big debate about it: can a black man play a Nordic character?

People expect me to be that guy. But I'm more east London boy than east Baltimore.

I was into Spider Man when I was a kid and that was the only comic I've ever read.

What really excites me in a project is when it goes in a way you haven't been before.

Working at BBC, at the head of one of the top dramas, is a tradition for great actors.

It could be Grammy night, Oscar night, whatever - I don't feel the pressure to be there.

I've always been DJing; it's just I'm making more of a push for it, making it more public.

I don't get recognised that much yet in London, but when I do I get a real sense of achievement.

Every leading lady I work with, I'll see if I can get a song out of them and put it on an album.

I've got two smoking guns that just look incredible, and I love to pull them out whenever I can.

Television, for me, is a medium that I'm probably always going to be attached to, one way or another.

There's a fast-track if you can do the networking. For some personalities it works, but for mine it doesn't.

Being able to work with Ridley Scott on this film is like being able to play on the Olympic team for actors.

I was always a real athletic kid. Then when I got older, I just figured it was part of life to keep training.

I did a rendition of Billie Jean which is on my Soundcloud. I put it on Twitter, and it got about 3000 hits that day.

I'm tactile, very tactile. A woman who has really nice, looked-after skin is such a turn-on for me. It's always sexy.

I did a rendition of 'Billie Jean' which is on my Soundcloud. I put it on Twitter, and it got about 3000 hits that day.

The only thing I change mainly is my sneakers. I love sneakers. But everything's sort of black or jeans. Jeans, always.

I knew that if I wanted to be all I could be, I would have to go to the US. It took three years to get the accent right.

I still sing on bits and pieces. Singing's something that I love to do, but it's not something that I pursue as a career.

I knew that if I wanted to be all I could be, I would have to go to the U.S. It took three years to get the accent right.

Are there differences between black actors' opportunities and white actors' opportunities? Yes, there are. It's been said.

Are there differences between black actors’ opportunities and white actors’ opportunities? Yes, there are. It’s been said.

I love bikes. I used to own one, but I fell off it when I was younger and that was the end of my bike riding days until now.

I've always had ambition, and the acting was successful and put my name on the map, but it was never the plan to stop there.

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