Idris Elba worked a 'grim' factory job before Hollywood fame: 'Nothing compares to doing that'

CNBC

07-07-2025

Idris Elba has made a name for himself as an actor in some of Hollywood's biggest franchises. The multihyphenate has even booked major gigs like Glastonbury and Coachella under his alias "DJ Driis."
But according to the 52-year-old, none of it feels like work.
"I consider this a privilege," Elba said during a recent appearance on "Good Hang with Amy Poehler." "This ain't work."
That's because Elba still remembers what life looked like before he got his big break when he was cast on HBO's "The Wire" in 2001.
"Both my parents [were] working class, didn't have much at all," Elba, who grew up in the 'deprived' London borough of Hackney, said, adding that he has struggled to make ends meet "for longer than I've been famous or successful."
He specifically recalled the "grim" night shifts he worked at a Ford Motor Company factory in Dagenham, East London, where he did the same tasks every night for two years.
"Nothing compares to doing that," Elba told Poehler, "So when I get an opportunity to come work with you, to come work on a set, it doesn't feel like work. Now everyone else is like, 'You're working really hard,' but it's not that hard."
Elba worked several other jobs while trying to make it big as an actor. When he first moved to the United States, he worked as a doorman at a New York City comedy club, booked gigs as a DJ and even sold cannabis, including to major comedians such as Dave Chappelle, he said in a 2022 interview with SiriusXM.
"The worst job" of all, he said in a recent episode of "GOAT Talk" for Complex media, was packaging sex toys in a factory for online orders. He described it as "traumatic."
Eventually, though, the hustle and persistence paid off.
While performing in an off-Broadway production of Shakespeare's "Troilus and Cressida" in 2001, an acting director took notice of his potential, Elba said in a 2018 episode of "Unfiltered with Oli Dugmore."
Several introductions and auditions later, that would eventually lead him to getting cast in "The Wire."
"At the time it was a small role in a TV show," he said. "It was a massive opportunity for A, me to come out of poverty and B, be seen in an HBO show. I don't think it was ever written to be the legacy it's become."
His character, Russell "Stringer" Bell, became one of the most iconic in the series — propelling Elba into other big projects, like playing Heimdall in Marvel's "Thor" and "Avengers" films, and DCI John Luther in BBC's "Luther."
Today, Elba continues to work across film, television and music. But even with nearly two decades of success behind him, and several projects on his plate at once, he still sees the job for what it is, he said: "a privilege."