Idris Elba Plans to Quit Acting: ‘I’m Hoping That My Fan Base Isn’t Mad at Me’

Idris Elba Plans to Quit Acting: ‘I’m Hoping That My Fan Base Isn’t Mad at Me’

Idris Elba has revealed that he intends to step away from acting in the future so he can concentrate on directing full-time. The 53-year-old star spoke about his long-term career plans during a Q&A at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he appeared to discuss his latest work behind the camera.

He explained his goal is to eventually shift his focus entirely to directing. “I’m hoping that my fan base as an actor isn’t mad at me,” he said, according to remarks shared from the festival. “Eventually I want to transfer to be a director fully.”

Elba noted that he has “been acting for a long time” and still enjoys it, but feels drawn to a different kind of creative involvement on set. “I love it still, but I think directing allows me to flex slightly different muscles and just be a part of the set in a different way. I really enjoy it,” he told the audience.

Elba also discussed his upcoming feature film This Is How It Goes, which he directed for Apple and adapted from Neil LaBute’s 2005 play of the same name. He explained that he “bought the rights to the film and transposed the story,” describing how the original plot about a Black man married to a white woman has been reworked so that “it’s a white man married to a Black woman, and a Black man comes to live in their house.” He called it “an incredible examination of marriage, trust, and race,” adding that filming took place in Ghana and that production had recently wrapped.

Away from his film projects, Elba said he feels “like an imposter in the political arena” and is considering returning to formal study. He shared that “there is a possibility that I may go to school and just study human science, not political science,” explaining that he wants to better understand “how humans respond to humans” so he can be “more effective” in his philanthropic and activism work.