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Idris Elba
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Idris Elba

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Also known as Big Driis the Londoner, DJ Big Driis, Idrissa Akuna Elba Obe

Sir Idrissa Akuna Elba is an English actor, DJ, and rapper. He has received a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for three BAFTA Awards and six Emmy Awards. He was named in the Time 100 list of the Most Influential People in the World in 2016. His films have grossed over $9.8 billion at the global box office, making him one of the top 20 highest-grossing actors. In 2025, Elba was named as the UK's ninth-most influential Black person in the 2026 Powerlist.

OverviewAI-generated

Idris Elba is a British-Sierra Leonean actor, film producer, and disc jockey born Idrissa Akuna Elba in the London Borough of Hackney in 1972. He began his work period in 1994 and has worked in locations including New York City and London. His notable works include the films Finding Dory, Zootopia, The Jungle Book, and Thor. He is married to Sabrina Dhowre and has two children.

Elba has received several honors, including the King's Trust, Officer of the Order of the British Empire, Knight Bachelor, and an honorary doctorate. He holds the honorific prefix Sir. He was nominated for a British Academy Television Award for Best Actor. He speaks English and has been diagnosed with COVID-19.

Synthesized by Vinony from 21 facts across 2 sources: Wikidata, MusicBrainz. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Film & TV

Hackney, London, England, UK

Idris Elba (born September 6, 1972) is a British television, theatre, and film actor who has starred in both British and American productions. One of his first acting roles was in the soap opera Family Affairs. Since then he has worked in a variety of TV and movie projects including Ultraviolet, The Wire, No Good Deed and Zootopia.

Known for

  • Children of Blood and Bone — Lekan2027
  • High in the Clouds — Barrel (voice)2027
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 4 — Knuckles (voice)2027
  • Above the Below — Jackson2026
  • Masters of the Universe — Duncan2026
  • Road to Glory — Self2026
  • Fixed — Rocco (voice)2025
  • Heads of State — Sam Clarke2025
  • A House of Dynamite — POTUS2025
  • Idris Elba: Our Knife Crime Crisis — Self - Presenter2025

via TMDB

Music · MusicBrainz

Type
Person
Gender
Male
Country
England
Active from
1972

Discography

via MusicBrainz · CC0

Wikipedia views (30d)

183,398 total

via Wikimedia Pageviews API

Wikidata facts

Instance of
human
Gender
male
Citizenship
Sierra Leone
Place of birth
London Borough of Hackney
Spouse
Sabrina Dhowre
Occupation
musician
Languages spoken
English language
Award
honorary doctorate
Notable work
Zootopia 2
Image
Actor and anti-knife campaigner Idris Elba with families and victims of Knife Crime at 10 Downing Street, London, on 9 September 2024 (cropped).jpg
Height
1.89
Number of children
2
Work location
New York City
Residence
London
Show 7 more facts
Commons category
Idris Elba
date of birth
1972-09-06
start of work period
1994-00-00
birth name
Idrissa Akuna Elba
medical condition
COVID-19
social media followers
224000
honorific prefix
Sir
Sources (12)

via Wikidata · CC0

~25 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Sir Idrissa Akuna Elba (/ˈɪdrɪs/ IH-driss; born 6 September 1972) is an English actor, DJ, and rapper. He has received a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for three BAFTA Awards and six Emmy Awards. He was named in the Time 100 list of the Most Influential People in the World in 2016. His films have grossed over $9.8 billion at the global box office, making him one of the top 20 highest-grossing actors. In 2025, Elba was named as the UK's ninth-most influential Black person in the 2026 Powerlist.

Elba studied acting at the National Youth Music Theatre in London. He rose to prominence playing Stringer Bell in the HBO series The Wire (2002–2004), and DCI John Luther in the BBC One series Luther (2010–2019), the latter of which earned him the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film as well as four nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. He was also Emmy-nominated for his guest role in Showtime comedy-drama series The Big C (2011) and for his leading role in Apple TV+ thriller series Hijack (2023). He is also known for his recurring guest role as Charles Miner in the NBC sitcom The Office (2009).

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Idris Elba” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (10)

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via Wikidata sitelinks · CC0