Idris Elba: How dad’s death shapes rest of my life
IDRIS ELBA says being left ‘baffled’ by his father’s death has spurred him to try to ‘live forever’.
The 44-year-old star is wanting to ‘plant enough seeds’ from all his talents so his legacy lives on.
The Luther actor explained his only fear is: ‘The inevitable: that we’re all going to die.’
Citing his dad Winston’s passing from cancer four years ago, he shared: ‘I remember looking at him and being really baffled. That’s it: the biggest influence in my life ends up in this box. He was only 72, and there was so much he wanted to do. So I said to myself, “When it’s over, it’s over.” There’s no second chance. When the man calls you to go, it’s time to go. But f*** that. Up until that point, I’ll do whatever I want. I’ll have a good time while I’m here.’
He added: ‘You can live forever if you plant enough seeds in the soil. The most successful trees are the ones that spread the most seeds.’
For the part-time DJ, those seeds include ‘my art, my films, my music, my literature — they’re my soul.’
There’s also his kick-boxing — though fans were stunned when he signed up to fight last year. The Dark Tower star told the September issue of The Red Bulletin: ‘People asked me, “Was it a midlife crisis?” To some degree, probably.
‘I’ve got a body and a brain that think I’m younger than I am. I felt it would be interesting to challenge my body again. When I really put my mind to it, no one was going to put me down.’
And Elba said he wanted to inspire fans to do it all. ‘People should say, “This guy reminds me of so many things I want to do and I’ve not done yet, because he never sat still”,’ he said.
Author: Tom Stichbury
