Idris Elba poses shirtless for Interview Mag, worries about creative burn out
Idris Elba covers the new issue of Interview Magazine and this Craig McDean editorial is so good! I mean, it’s probably the easiest thing in the world for magazine stylists to get Idris to “look sexy,” but still. It’s like they made this editorial just for us, based on our sexual fantasies. Idris in a warehouse, shirtless, on an uncovered mattress. ROWR! I would absolutely suggest going to look at the full Interview editorial too – go here to see. As for the interview, Idris speaks to Jon Favreau about fame, work and what it’s like to transition into directing. Some highlights:
Playing the Gunslinger in The Dark Tower: “I’ve always wanted to try the whole cowboy feel and look, so when I took this role, I was wondering, ‘Are we going to bring that to life in this character? Is he a real cowboy?’ And the answer was no. We had to reinvent that a little bit because the world—it’s quite a fantastical world and we aren’t making a Western. But there’s definitely some characteristics from those great cowboy movies, the Sergio Leone movies and all. I was definitely drawn to it. I’ve got two smoking guns that just look incredible, and I love to pull them out whenever I can.”
He’s fine with being a TV actor too: “Television is where I cut my teeth. One of my first jobs was in a soap opera, five days a week. And what I found is, although there are different directors coming in and different crews, you just lived in your character. It’s the nature of the story, the ongoing story, and it can get deeper and deeper. And The Wire—I had moved to America a few years earlier. I had to get a job. And this character came about, and I jumped straight in. And it was like, “Today we’re doing this scene in this part of this story line in this part of this world.” You don’t have the luxury like you do in films to do one scene per day.”
He has so much going on: “When you break it down like that, it’s unhealthy to have that much going on. I don’t want to sound ungrateful or anything, but I sleep less, I’m constantly thinking, I’m constantly multitasking, and I really don’t know what the effects are going to be when I’m older. I don’t ever stop. Not because I’m greedy or anything, but I’m always creating, debating with the part of my brain that is dormant. Wondering how I can move in and create a bit more space and take a bit more time. But it’s almost like the more I achieve, the more capacity I have to achieve. I do worry sometimes about whether I’m going to burn out. Not burn myself out, but burn my art out, with audiences going, “Ah, yeah, I’ve seen enough now, thanks very much.”
It’s strange to hear Idris worry about burning out or becoming too famous, because it seems like he’s worked so hard to get to this place, and he’s only now at a place where he’s famous, respected and sought-after. He’s working back-to-back and he’s got a wide variety of projects in the mix. So I hope he does stick with it and just puts his head down and does the work.
Photos courtesy of Craig McDean/Interview Magazine.
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