Idris Elba says acting saved him from gangs as he slams knife crime crisis
HE’S best known as the Hollywood A-list actor behind gritty homicide detective Luther – who spent five series hunting down fictional sadistic killers in bloody scenes on BBC One. Now, Idris E…
HE’S best known as the Hollywood A-list actor behind gritty homicide detective Luther - who spent five series hunting down fictional sadistic killers in bloody scenes on BBC One.
Now, Idris Elba is hoping to tackle real-life crime, by turning his hand to battling the rising rate of knife related deaths in the UK.
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Idris hopes to battle knife crime with his new documentaryCredit: BBC4
The Luther actor said he found solace in acting at an age he could've been swayedCredit: AlamyNo less because the actor, who was born and raised in Hackney, London, admits he could’ve ended up on the wrong side of the law, or carrying a knife, without his career.
Idris, 52, said: “It was my drama teacher who said to me, ‘You’re going to be a good actor’.
“I was like, ‘Acting? No. I just like coming to class, I can’t be an actor’, but she was like, ‘Why not?’
“So at 14 years old, I was swayed - and that instead could’ve been someone saying to me, ‘Bro, you can make a lot of money if you just push this bag for me…’ It could’ve swayed me in the same way.”
read more on idris elbaWhile Idris found his salvation in acting, he knows that others in his life weren’t as fortunate.
He continued: “Someone very close to me, he’s alive, but he went through it.
"Now, we’re both 52-year-old men, and he’s like, ‘You’re doing the right thing’, but he isn’t as hopeful or as optimistic as I am that this is a crisis we can tackle.”
The crisis in question is one of Britain’s most devastating issues, with new documentary Our Knife Crime Crisis delving into the roots of the growing knife crime epidemic that kills four people a week.
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The 60-minute special, which airs tonight on BBC One, also explores the possible solutions to the issue, which Idris says demands more of our attention now than ever.
He added: “We called the film Our Crisis because it is a crisis.
First look at Idris Elba in terrifying new thriller Hijack as plane passengers fight for their lives“I already said it was at boiling point a year ago, and now four people are dying a week, that’s four people we might be able to save next week with a few little bits of intervention.
“Ultimately, it’s important that we talk about this - and I’m not one for celebrity politicking, while some people find it quite inspirational when someone they love is on telly talking about it, I find it distracting.
“That said, I do think that we need to talk about this wherever we can, because we are in a crisis, and we need to make some noise, to amplify the issue, whether you’re a celebrity or not.
“It’s always being quietly debated, but we need to be screaming it now, because it shows the kids, the young that are most involved in this, that someone is paying attention. We have to face the reality.”
For Idris, the documentary marks a change in the way he addresses violence and crimes on screen, having previously used TV series Luther as a means to add to the conversation.
He explained: “Luther saw me heavily criticised for emphasising about violence against women, and often the first victim in the storylines was a woman.
“It was our choice as filmmakers to acknowledge our contribution in how that might be glamorising or normalising what was a crisis in our country - though we weren’t the driver of that violence.
“It was entertainment, but we felt if we could do something, we could tell stories.
“There are so many issues in the world that need fighting, but this is the one for me, because it hit home.
“It broke my heart that nobody was piping up, nobody was saying anything.
“I’m not on some righteous path here to be like, ‘I have to do it’ - but these are the neighbourhoods I’m from, and it was just bonkers to me that nobody was speaking up for what they believe in.
“I’m annoying to some people, they’re like, ‘Just go make a movie or something’, but this is important.”
The actor gets up close and personal with reality himself by visiting Feltham Prison and Young Offenders Institution as part of the documentary, to sit down with young perpetrators.
“They’re not so big and scary as the way they’re portrayed,” Idris recalled. “These were just young people grasping onto their development, and it was sad.
“I was looking at these kids, and it just felt up they had been banged up and then, nobody cares - that we’d just turned our back on them, and then they are expected to come out of here ready for society.”
Instead of adopting an attitude of fixing the problem with punishment, he hopes the film will make people consider the benefits of intervention, diversion and mentorship - at the very least, because of the costs.
He explained: “When you look at how much it costs to keep a young person in Feltham versus an intervention programme, it’s shocking - imprisonment costs £150,000 a year.
“When kids are young enough, they’re vulnerable enough to be encouraged to do something else - and while some might argue it might not work, we don’t know until we try it.”
Idris is also keen to dispel the myth that knife crime is a problem that is confined to certain communities.
In the documentary, he meets Jordan, a white British teenager diagnosed with ADHD and autism, who turned to carrying and using a knife for safety in his local Coventry suburb.
He explained: “The fact that this narrative is only pushed around black and brown communities is part of the reason this has been an ongoing conversation because it’s been pushed to certain communities.
“It’s really misleading when people think it’s just a black and brown problem.
“Proportionally, you’re seeing black and brown kids in knife-related incidences because the areas where black and brown people live are usually the same areas where there’s poverty.
“But it isn’t largely just a black and brown problem. In fact, it’s the opposite. It can affect everybody, and we need to start thinking about it that way.”
Idris is clear that solving knife crime requires a united effort, and not something we should be leaving to the government or the police to sort, nor should it be down to young people, or parents, alone.
He encouraged: “It can’t just be the police, it can’t just be the youth, we can’t blame the parents.
“I grew up in a generation where your neighbourhood raised you, people would see you out and say, ‘What time are you out, get back to your house!’ Those days are gone.
"But this is where education and community have to come in - to get everyone involved.
“And we need young people to be like, ‘Yo, we don’t want to do this any more, we don’t want to carry knives’ - and we need their voices, we need them to be at the table.
“We’re never going to eradicate gangs, knives, and violence - it’s part of human nature, but as a society, we can safeguard our citizens and that’s to me what success looks like.”
Now, working alongside Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the documentary, and sitting down with King Charles, Idris admitted he’s hopeful that this could spell for change.
“I do feel optimistic, I’m not hopeful, but I’m optimistic,” he concluded. “Our current leaders are listening. Though, listening is one thing, and action is another.
READ MORE SUN STORIES“I just want to spark a big old debate - people calling into their local radio stations to say, ‘Did you see that rubbish last night?’ Whatever it is, I want people talking.”
Idris Elba: Our Knife Crime Crisis airs tonight at 9pm on BBC One
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Idris meets with young offenders in the new documentaryCredit: BBC4
The Luther star says he wants to get people talkingCredit: Getty
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