Idris Elba Is Also a Musician, and 11 Other Fun Facts About the “Luther: The Fallen Sun” Star

Elba has been nominated for over 20 awards, and won a Golden Globe for “Luther” in 2011 and a SAG Award for the series in 2016. That same year, he was honored at the SAGs for his performance in “Beast of No Nation.” He’s been in too many blockbusters and hit shows to name, from “Avengers: Infinity War” to “Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw” and beyond. In 2016, he was recognized on Queen Elizabeth II’s annual New Year’s Honors List for his acting achievements and was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).

Elba made his directorial debut in 2019 with “Yardie,” a period crime drama set in Jamaica and England.

Though he can pull off pretty much anything, Elba is known for his classy red carpet appearances.

Elba played Michael Scott’s new boss Charles Miner in season five of “The Office,” which aired in 2008. Fittingly, every single lady in the show was fawning over Charles.

Elba appeared alongside Beyoncé in the 2009 movie “Obsessed,” which also costarred Ali Larter. “Obsessed” told the story of an office temp (Larter) who catches feelings for her boss (Elba) – but when his wife (Beyoncé) learns about the coworker’s obsession, things escalate to a dangerous level.

Strangely, this hat sparked Elba’s bitter feud with Liam Gallagher. Elba wore this hat to the NME awards in 2013, and apparently Gallagher didn’t take to it. “It was a good hat, man. I guess he just took against it. He must have thought it looked silly, because he tried to grab it,” Elba told The Guardian of Gallagher. Apparently Elba tried to ruffle Gallagher’s hair in response, and the pair exchanged some choice words after that.

Prince Harry and Elba actually have a long-standing connection. Elba received a grant from Harry’s charity, The Prince’s Trust, at the age of 16, which helped him kickstart his career. He later became an ambassador for the charity, ultimately meeting and befriending Harry and Meghan Markle in the process.

Years later, Elba took responsibility for the music at Harry and Markle’s royal wedding in 2018, and it sounds like he did a great job. “I think Meghan was the one that was really letting it go,” Elba told ET Canada in March 2023 when asked who was the best dancer at the wedding. “You know, she was real . . . she just had a lot of fun. It was her wedding. So she had the greatest time,” the actor said, adding that although he was extremely nervous for the gig, Markle helped him out by sending a playlist ahead of time.

Elba married model and activst Sabrina Dhowre Elba in 2019. The pair met at a jazz bar in Vancouver, Canada, in 2017, and the rest was history.

Elba is a dad to two children named Isan and Winston. Isan, who he shares with ex-wife Kim Nørgaard, was born in 2002, and Winston, who he shares with ex-girlfriend Naiyana Garth, was born in April 2014.

There’s been some speculation in recent years about Elba taking on the role of James Bond, though nothing has been confirmed.

He’s been thought of as a possible Bond for years, though in 2014, he had some choice words for a reporter who asked if he was set to play the “Black James Bond.” “We don’t say ‘white Bond,’ we just say ‘Bond,'” Elba said in the “Huffington Post interview. “So it suddenly becomes a Black man and he’s a ‘Black Bond.’ So I hate that phrase.”

Elba documented his year-long kickboxing and MMA training journey in the film “Idris Elba: Fighter,” which came out in 2017. He later ended up winning his first professional kickboxing match, per Mental Floss.