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" I was on a well-beaten path of actors - what we all call 'the Law and Order route'. I spent two years of auditioning for everything... and then 'The Wire' came up. "

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" Because I was big, I didn't have to listen to anyone doubting me. I was just considered good at football or whatever, there were no questions about it. "

Idris Elba

Good

Questions

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

" 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. "

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

Idris Elba

Way

Before

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

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

Idris Elba

Been

Most

" If you are going to call a film a 'black film' then you have to make a film that represents everyone that's black, which is almost impossible. That is why white films are not called white films, they are just called 'films.' "

" I'm a little sheepish about it. Whenever I meet fans and they're like, 'Oh, you're so sexy,' I just don't get that. There's no way one man can be universally sexy. "

" I get criticized for taking roles in films like 'Ghost Rider 2', but if you look at my resume, dude, I've mixed it up as much as I can. "

Idris Elba

You

Look

" If you go to Africa and you're white, you're probably not going to get that much work either. But the fact is that there is a longer history of black integration in the U.S. I don't have any resentment about this: I did the maths, calculated it against my ambition and decided to leave England. "

Idris Elba

Black

History

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

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

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

" I lived in America for a long time before I started working as an actor. Some actors show up on set and have never done an American accent before, so they rely on a slew of technical mechanisms. Part of what makes an accent is understanding why people speak that way - you have to understand the culture. "

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

Idris Elba

Expect

London

" Apparently, Daniel Craig said I'd be a great Bond. Daniel, why did you say that? Dropped me right in it! What an honor it would be, but also, what an indication of change. "

Idris Elba

Bond

You

" I'd rather a young black actor read about success as opposed to how tough it was. I get these roles because I can act and that's it. Hopefully that's it. "

" The English are good at bad guys - the James Bond-style villain, cunning, slow-burning. The Americans are much more obvious about it. "

Idris Elba

Villain

Good

" I'm rebelling against being handed a career, like, 'You're the next this; you're the next that.' I'm not the next anything, I'm the first me. I can't be myself, I can't just be Idris Elba. But that's just the nature of the business. "

Idris Elba

Business

You

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

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

" I'm an ambitious person. I never consider myself in competition with anyone, and I'm not saying that from an arrogant standpoint, it's just that my journey started so, so long ago, and I'm still on it and I won't stand still. "

" 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. "

" In 'Pacific Rim' I had to have a haircut I wouldn't usually rock. However, the moustache I had in the film - that might have to come out again. It was a good moustache. Good times. "

" I think there's a tendency for actors like myself, and I don't mean to generalize myself, but I've played 'men's men,' if you will, characters that are simmering rage and calculated. There's a trend not to play anything that is opposed to that. "

" 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 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. "

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

" I tend to stay away from the comics. "

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