Offering proof that chivalry is not dead, Idris Elba once put his life in danger when he jumped in to save a woman who was having a scuffle with her boyfriend outside a nightclub.
The 6-foot-2 actor, who often portrays fearless characters on screen, admitted he was terrified after he defended the vulnerable woman, whose angered partner then held him at gunpoint.
London-born Idris Elba is a critically acclaimed actor known for his extraordinary talent and gravitas. His diverse range of roles include a Norse deity in Marvel’s Thor to a drug kingpin in The Wire, to the titular character in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, a brilliant performance that earned him a Golden Globe nomination.
Named People’s Sexiest Man Alive in 2018, the suave Elba is a handsome, multi-talented man who is also a music producer, professional DJ, and singer who collaborated on a remix of “Long-Tailed Winter Bird” with Sir Paul McCartney.
As a DJ, the British actor revealed that he met Prince Harry while DJing at a nightclub and the two became friends after saying “yo” to each other.
The Daily Mail reports that Elba denied the prince of a request while he was spinning at the club.
“I was DJ-ing in all these clubs where Harry would show up and he was like ‘Yo!’ and I’m like ‘Yo!’ And then at one point he was like, ‘Listen man, I’m getting married.’ I was like, ‘Yo! That’s amazing,” the 50-year-old Elba continued, “He goes, ‘I want you to DJ.’”
And then Harry asked for a song request: “I was like, ‘I don’t do requests!’”
Despite refusing the prince a song, Elba was at the May wedding and afterwards, he did DJ at the Frogmore House reception, which was also attended by guests like George Clooney, Oprah Winfrey and the Beckhams.
“You know what? I was so nervous,” Elba revealed in March 2023, adding that the royals know how to bust a move. “I think Meghan was the one that was really like letting it go. You know, she was real… She just had a lot of fun. It was her wedding. So she had the greatest time.”
Though the London-born celebrity has a successful career in the music industry — he’s played international festivals around the world — he is mostly praised by critics and fans alike for his mighty physical presence in TV and film.
Demonstrating his artistic talents, Elba is admired for authoritative performances in films like Beasts of No Nation (2015) where he plays a ruthless member of the militia, and his award-winning portrayal of the renegade cop in Luther, a character he played in all five seasons of the TV show and the 2023 film Luther and the Fallen Son.
But, serving as testimony to his superb acting abilities, Elba recently revealed that in real life, his seemingly shatterproof exterior can be broken.
He shared that one night, outside a club in the US, he was terrified after trying to help a vulnerable woman, and was met with a hostile boyfriend, who threatened him at gunpoint.
“I nearly lost my f—ing life, after attempting to stop a man threatening his girlfriend outside a club,” said the star, who voiced the villain in The Jungle Book. “A guy (was) whaling on his missus, screaming in her face, ‘I’ll f—ing kill you,’ and so on.”
Trying to diffuse the situation, Elba said he stepped in and told the man, “Look how beautiful she is. Why would you talk to this beautiful princess like that?”
With hostilities escalating, the man then “pulled out a gun, stuck it right in my face, and goes, ‘You talking about my girl?’ He thought I was trying to hit on her.”
The situation left Elba thinking, “Don’t play negotiations like that… Consequences, man.”
Elba provided no more details of that incident.
One of Elba’s latest roles is as Sam Nelson, a corporate negotiator, who tries to bargain with a hostage taker on a flight.
“This is not a hero. This is not someone who can fight,” Elba said of his character. “He does use his brain, use his logic, use his sensitivity, use his empathy.”
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I think we can all say that Idris Elba is a hero in real life and on screen, at least when he’s not playing a villain!
What do you think of his gallantry in trying to help the woman? And what do you think of Elba? Please share this story with your thoughts!
