Entertainment
Idris Elba supported by mum, Stormzy and starry guests at new film Beast premiere on home turf: ‘I’ve gone from Hackney to Hollywood’-Tori Brazier-Entertainment – Metro
The lion thriller is released on Friday.
Elba brought his latest movie back to where he grew up (Picture: PA/ AP/Rex)
Idris Elba made it a family and friends affair for the premiere of his new film Beast on Wednesday, rocking up with his mum as well as posing with guests including celebrity pal Stormzy.
The actor, who has reportedly ‘walked away’ from the chance to play James Bond, said it ‘felt special’ to bring the premiere of Beast to the borough where he grew up – saying he has gone ‘from Hackney to Hollywood’.
The Londoner was accompanied by his mum Eve Elba as his plus-one to the event, who looked glamorous in grey while Idris opted for neutral tones of green and beige in a sharp tailored top and tie.
Stormzy wore head-to-toe white and stood alongside the star, who made a cameo in his Vossi Bop music video back in 2019, having hugged him on arrival at Hackney Picturehouse.
Other guests at the star-studded event included Love Island finalist Dami Hope, shirtless under a black and brightly striped jacket, and DJ and presenter Yinka Bokinni, who stunned in bright pink.
Elba stars in the new thriller about a father and his two teenage daughters who find themselves hunted by a lion while holidaying in the savannah.
The actor with his mum Eve at the event (Picture: PA)
Stormzy also showed up to support his friend (Picture: David M. Benett/Dave Benett/WireImage)
Elba’s latest film, which sees him hunted by a lion, was shot in South Africa and is out on Friday (Picture: PA)
The 49-year-old actor headed back to South Africa to shoot the blockbuster, having filmed drama Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom in the country in 2013.
He told the PA news agency: ‘I feel like an honorary South African when I go there because of Mandela.
‘I love the country. I love that part of the world. I have a very special love for it.’
The Luther star, who plays Dr Nate Daniels in Beast, added: ‘Not too far from here, I was raised on Dalston high street. I would never imagine that one day I would bring a film that I am in and helped make back to the borough. It feels very special. I’m proud of it.
‘From Hackney to Hollywood.’
In Beast, Elba’s recently widowed character returns to South Africa, where he first met his wife, to visit a game reserve when his family is stalked by a big cat.
The acting and music titans smiled as they were snapped together (Picture: Scott Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Love Island’s Dami Hope rocked a snazzy suit (Picture: REX/Shutterstock)
‘Acting with a CGI lion, it was technical, difficult, layered and slow – really slow – just to get it right,’ he said.
‘The lion is incredible in it. When you see it, it is, “Wow”, but I remember painstaking layers to make that happen.’
Talking about acting as a grieving husband, he shared: ‘Everyone has gone through some sort of loss, but in this case it is about figuring out what the family dynamics are – kids and the loss of their parent and how tough that is on their relationship.’
Elba’s real-life daughter Isan auditioned for the role of his on-screen daughter, but the character went on to be played by This Is Us star Iyana Halley and Empire’s Leah Sava Jeffries.
Director Baltasar Kormakur told PA: ‘We don’t cast given the second name, we cast whoever is right for the role.
Sierra Leonean musician Drizilik also got the suit memo (Picture: David Fisher/Shutterstock)
Producer Will Packer, Idris Elba and director Baltasar Kormakur at the Beast screening on Wednesday (Picture: PA)
‘Even though it is his daughter, she was not necessarily right for that particular girl in age.’
Kormakur, who directed Everest, 2 Guns and Contraband, said he shot the film in a way that feels ‘relentless’ before telling of the challenges of shooting in the wilderness.
‘There was a hyena biting a cable in the middle of the night … I got almost run over by an elephant outside my house,’ he said.
‘I am a challenge junkie. There was nothing in me when I was invited to make a movie about a lion with Idris Elba that was going to say no.’
Elba added: ‘There was a pond sequence and apparently there was a snake roaming around in there that they couldn’t get out. I had to get in the water anyway, so I was like, “If it’s going to get me, it’s going to get me.” Some people were like, “I’m not going anywhere near it.”’
Kormakur said working with Elba was ‘fantastic’.
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‘He is one of a kind. He is a great actor and movie star. He has the whole package and for this movie he is playing a vulnerable father who takes on a lion. He needed the whole range and he brings that to the screen,’ he said.
The film, which also stars Sharlto Copley as wildlife biologist Martin Battles, was adapted for the screen by Ryan Engle from Jaime Primak Sullivan’s original story.
Beast is released in UK cinemas on August 26.
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