Idris Elba, 51, has admitted he started seeing a therapist over a year ago because he is an “absolute workaholic”.
Appearing on the Changes with Annie Macmanus podcast, the British actor revealed he sought out therapy this time last year when he began to recognise his “unhealthy habits”.
He began: “It’s a lot. In my therapy, I’ve been thinking a lot about changing, almost to the point of neuropaths [sic] being changed and shifting.
“It’s not because I don’t like myself or anything like that, it’s just because I have some unhealthy habits that have really formed. And I work in an industry where I’m rewarded for those unhealthy habits.”
The “workaholic” said his love for staying busy with projects has had a negative impact on his wellbeing.
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The Luther actor even explained how he finds working for 10 days straight on a gruelling film set “more relaxing” than sitting on the sofa with his family.
The problem is made worse, he believes, because he is “massively rewarded” by his industry for working so much.
He added: “This is the part where I’ve got to normalise what makes me relaxed, it can’t be all work.”
Elba has a daughter Isan and a son Winston, whom he had with previous partners.
In 2019, he married his third wife, Canadian model Sabrina Dhowre.
The actor told Vogue in 2019 it was love at first sight with Sabrina, admitting: “We’ve been literally inseparable since we met. Inseparable.
Idris’ career began in the 1990s when he appeared in several TV shows before he got his big break in The Wire in 2022.
He has since starred in The US Office as well as the lead role in BBC detective series Luther.
Idris also had roles in Hollywood films including RocknRolla, Pacific Rim, Molly’s Game, and has often been touted as a candidate for James Bond.
One of his latest projects includes Apple TV’s Hijack, where his character Sam Nelson tries to use his professional skills to save everyone on board a plane.