License to Chill: Idris Elba Says Directing his First Film Was a Nerve-wrecking Experience

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posted on 6 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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Yardie is based on the 1992 novel of the same name by Victor Headley, which tells the story of a young Jamaican who is sent to London to facilitate a drug deal. Elba has been determined to avoid glamourising violence in the new movie

Actor Idris Elba says directing his first movie Yardie was a "nerve-wrecking" experience.

"'Yardie' is a small project. It's not designed to be a big money-making film. Of course, this is a business and I want to be proud of it. I think there's a misconception that the higher you get, the less the success matters. That's not true," Elba told Irish Times newspaper.

"Are you kidding me? I've directed this thing. I've conjured it and to watch it go out into the public domain is great. I mean, it's nerve-wrecking. But I can cover up my nerves by just ploughing on," he added.

Yardie is based on the 1992 novel of the same name by Victor Headley, which tells the story of a young Jamaican who is sent to London to facilitate a drug deal. Elba has been determined to avoid glamourising violence in the new movie, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

He said: "There's a lot of violent energy in the book that I was nervous about portraying on screen because of the type of violence it is. I had to ask, 'What am I saying about this? What am I saying about this culture?' The term 'yardie' is a derogatory term in the first place. So the energy I wanted was cultural energy. I wanted to feel like I've just gone to Jamaica. I wanted to I feel like I'm in the 1980s."

Elba had earlier fueled speculation that he will become the first black actor to play James Bond, after posting a cryptic tweet, but the Luther star has since confrimed that he will not be the next 007.

Speaking on the red carpet at the premiere of Yardie, he squashed fans' hopes that he might be taking over as the popular fictional character James Bond from actor Daniel Craig, reports dailymail.co.uk. The actor was asked if he preferred "shaken or stirred", in a nod to the spy character's favourite drink - a martini. Elba replied: "Stir fried actually." He was then asked: "Am I looking at the next 007?" The actor responded with a firm "no".

Last week, Elba posted a selfie on Twitter, captioning it: "My name's Elba, Idris Elba," echoing Bond's catchphrase. The actor acknowledged that "apparently" he set off a bit of a firestorm "by telling people my name".

(With IANS inputs)