Idris Elba started his career a long time ago. From the middle of the 1990s, he appeared in the Television shows like Insiders, Family Affairs, and Dangerfield. He has done almost 100 films and a lot of television shows.

Having been in the industry for almost three decades, he has had a plethora of experiences that have made him who he is. The veteran actor shared some of these takes with Still Watching Netflix.

The career journey of Idris Elba- After the 1990s

Idris Elba’s career started in 1994, where we first saw him in Space Percinet. In 1995, Idris Elba played a significant role in the British sitcom Absolutely Fabulous. Remembering his good old days, Idris Elba claimed, “You know, back in the day, the BBC used to make you rehearse for five days. I spent five days with Jennifer Saunders and they were just pissing about it. We don’t need five days for these, we’ll just have a laugh and we did for, you know, five days, have a laugh every day. So, I really enjoyed that.”

In 1998, in a sci-fi thriller show called Ultraviolet, Elba played the character of Vaughn.

After the 2000s

Idris Elba‘s career really took off in this decade. His character of Stringer Bell in The Wire was an ice-cold drug kingpin. Through The Wire, Elba made his impact on the world. He explained, “The Wire was probably the most impactful career move for me. One of the best characters I’ve ever played, and it came at such a pivotal time for me.”

The Wire completely launched the career of Idris Elba. In 2007, we saw more of Idris on the big screen. He was part of some incredible films like 28 Days Later, American Gangster, and Rocknrolla.

In 2009, he also appeared in Office as the uptight pencil pusher and who is the general enemy of fun. After 2010, he played the characters who were on the right side of the law. One of his most iconic roles as maverick detective John Luther in Luther.

After the 2010s

In 2011, we all remember his role in Thor as Heimdall- the gatekeeper. Furthermore, after his turn in Suicide Squad, he became one of the rare actors to have featured in both DC and Marvel. In the last decade, his career particularly flew off. Elba has done back-to-back blockbusters like Prometheus in 2012, Pacific Rim in 2013, and Mandela: A Long Walk to Freedom in 2013. He even got nominated for Best Actors at the Golden Globes.

In 2015, Idris appeared in his first Netflix original Beasts of No Nation. He also voiced characters in The Jungle Book, Finding Dory, and Zootopia. In 2019, he was back with another Netflix comedy, Turn up Charlie, and his latest film was The Harder They Fall. In that cowboy western, fans loved his cowboy costume.