Idris Elba explains why he no longer describes himself as a ‘Black actor’: ‘It put me in a box’

Idris Elba said in a recent interview he stopped describing himself as a “Black actor” because it put him in a “box” in his career. 

“If we spent half the time not talking about the differences but the similarities between us, the entire planet would have a shift in the way we deal with each other,” the “Beast” actor told Esquire U.K. in an article published Wednesday. “As humans, we are obsessed with race. And that obsession can really hinder people’s aspirations, hinder people’s growth.”

He agreed that racism should be discussed.

“Racism is very real,” Elba said. “But, from my perspective, it’s only as powerful as you allow it to be. I stopped describing myself as a Black actor when I realized it put me in a box. We’ve got to grow. We’ve got to. Our skin is no more than that. It’s just skin. Rant over.”

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Idris Elba said he no longer likes to refer to himself as a “Black actor.”  (Hollie Adams/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The actor, who is reprising his role as Luther in the new movie “Luther: The Fallen Sun,” said he does consider himself a “member of the Black community.”

“You say a prominent one,” he told the interviewer. “But when I go to America, I’m a prominent member of the British community. ‘Oh, UK’s in the house!’”

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The “Luther” actor said he considers himself part of the Black and British communities.  (Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images)

He said he appreciates that “I might be the first to look like me to do a certain thing. And that’s good to leave as part of my legacy. So that other people, Black kids, but also White kids growing up in the circumstances I grew up in, are able to see there was a kid who came from Canning Town who ended up doing what I do. It can be done.”

Idris Elba said while he understands the importance of leaving a legacy as a Black performer, he doesn’t want to be the first Black man to do something. “I’m the first Idris,” he says.  (AP Newsroom)

But he said he didn’t become an actor to break barriers as a Black man. 

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“I did it because I thought that’s a great profession, and I could do a good job at it,” he said. “As you get up the ladder, you get asked what it’s like to be the first Black to do this or that. Well, it’s the same as it would be if I were White. It’s the first time for me. I don’t want to be the first Black. I’m the first Idris.”