Idris Elba goes into the belly of the beast

Idris Elba tells Helen Barlow how his new Netflix film is about much more than the subject of child soldiers in Africa

IDRIS Elba just might be audiences’ pick for the next James Bond, be widely adored as a sex symbol, and also remembered as the coolest of crooks from The Wire. He event has a reputation as a decent urban DJ, and has done a few guest appearances as a rapper.

Yet, beneath all the stardom, beats the heart of a man who takes his African roots very seriously. His dad, from Sierra Leone, died two years ago and it also meant a lot to Elba to to make upcoming Netflix film, Beasts of No Nation, in Ghana, his mother’s homeland.