Idris Elba eyes full-time directing career, wraps new Ghana-shot film

Idris Elba is focusing on directing as he continues to expand his career behind the camera.

The 53-year-old actor spoke at a Q&A during the Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, Dec. 10, about his short film Dust To Dreams, marking his first directing effort since the 2018 feature Yardie.

Elba said he hopes to eventually transition fully to directing. “I’m hoping that my fan base as an actor isn’t mad at me,” he said.

“Eventually I want to transfer to be a director fully.”

Elba, who has over 130 acting credits, acknowledged his long tenure in front of the camera but noted that directing allows him to “flex slightly different muscles and just be a part of the set in a different way.”

He also discussed his next directing project, Apple’s This Is How It Goes, an adaptation of Neil LaBute’s 2005 play.

Elba explained that he transposed the story, originally about a Black man married to a white woman, into one featuring a white man married to a Black woman, exploring themes of marriage, trust, and race.

The film was shot in Ghana and production wrapped last week.

Elba addressed rumors about being cast as the next James Bond, confirming there is no truth to the reports.

He will, however, return to acting as Detective John Luther in a new film set to start shooting in February, continuing his role from the Luther series, which he has played intermittently since 2010.

Despite his shift toward directing, Elba has described acting as a “privilege” and emphasized that being on set “doesn’t feel like work.”