British film star Idris Elba has revealed he plans to focus much more on making electronic music and spend less time acting.
The Luther star spoke about his musical ambitions in a new interview with Vanity Fair. Speaking about his hopes for fans to take his side hustle seriously, Elba said: “Some may think, ‘Well, it’ll be the death of your acting if your music’s shit.’
“I’ve dealt with the internal struggle of that over the years. So now I’m at peace and I’ve chosen: This is what I’m doing, and I’m going to do it. Some will love it and some will hate it.”
Elba, who shot to fame for his role in The Wire, also spoke about plans to “lean away from the acting work”.
“The thing about making music is it’s a very consuming process,” he added. “It’s very difficult to shoot a movie and then go off into the studio or make a song. It’s like trying to build a soufflé while making a brick wall.”
NEW MUSIC FRIDAY!! https://t.co/CTQSTYQm32 You know I love to make music, my music varies, like my tastes. Have a listen to this Ep I did with Australian band, it’s different but I love it. @limecordiale #NewMusicFriday #music
— Idris Elba (@idriselba) January 21, 2022
Elba has previously collaborated with artists like Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, and also performed at Coachella in 2019. His latest EP, Cordi Elba, a collaboration with Australian band Lime Cordiale (read our interview with them here), came out last month.
The actor will voice Knuckles in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, out in April. He’s also set to star in survival film Beast, and will appear opposite Tilda Swinton in fantasy film Three Thousand Years of Longing.
“Having a year of films that are all very different excites me,” he said of his upcoming projects.
“I don’t want people to be like, ‘Oh, this is an Idris Elba film, so I’m going to expect that,’” he continued. “I feel very privileged to be considered an actor that has a lot of range.”
