Idris Elba
(1972-), ActorSitter in 2 portraits
Born in Hackney to a Sierra Leonean father and a Ghanaian mother, Elba was an only child. His name Idrissa was shortened to Idris at the school he attended in Canning Town where he first became interested in acting. His big break after seeing an advertisement in The Stage, he auditioned and met his first agent whilst performing in his first role. Elba left school in 1988, and won a place in the National Youth Music Theatre where he was awarded a grant from the Prince's Trust. His first acting role was in a Crimewatch murder reconstruction. Amongst his long list of film credits he appeared in Ridley Scott's American Gangster (2007), he is also renown for playing Detective Luther in BBC One's series Luther.
Comments back to top
We are currently unable to accept new comments, but any past comments are available to read below.
If you need information from us, please use our Archive enquiry service . Please note that we cannot provide valuations. You can buy a print or greeting card of most illustrated portraits. Select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Buy a Print button. Prices start at around £6 for unframed prints, £16 for framed prints. If you wish to license an image, select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Use this image button, or contact our Rights and Images service. We digitise over 8,000 portraits a year and we cannot guarantee being able to digitise images that are not already scheduled.