How Damson Idris’ “favourite movie in the world” changed his life forever: “This is destiny”
From playing a random commuter in an episode of Miranda to sharing the screen with Brad Pitt, Andrew Scott, Anthony Mackie, and more, Damson Idris has come a long way in a very short time.
After abandoning his dreams of becoming a footballer, Idris quickly rose up the ranks and amassed a fascinating portfolio of projects, from an episode of Black Mirror, the directorial debut of Lost star Adewale Akinnuoye Agbaje, and an upcoming Miles Davis biopic, making for one hell of a list, and while he’s yet to have his proper mainstream breakout moment, you get the feeling that’s just around the corner.
Most people first became aware of the British-Nigerian star when he started appearing in the FX series Snowfall, playing Franklin Saint, a drug dealer looking to exploit the crack epidemic sweeping the United States during the 1980s. After a bit of a rocky start, the series really took off, leading Idris to the career he has today.
When auditioning for the role of Saint, an aspiring teenage mobster who leads his own gang called ‘The Family’, the actor went to several different places in search of inspiration, and as he revealed to Buzzfeed News, he was more than happy to revisit one particular source.
“My favourite movie in the world is American Gangster,” he confirmed, “The main character in that is Frank Lucas, so when the audition came through and it was like a street entrepreneur, which is a fancy word for drug dealer, and they were like, yeah, his name is Franklin Saint, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s mine. I have to get it; this is destiny. Frank Lucas, Franklin Saint. This is me’.”
Directed by the great Ridley Scott, American Gangster is based on the story of real-life drug smuggler Frank Lucas, who used service planes returning from Vietnam to illegally import heroin into the country, amassing a criminal empire that drew the attention of New Jersey lawman Richie Roberts, played by Russell Crowe.
Lucas is played expertly by Denzel Washington because that’s the only way he knows how to play anything, and as his territory and reputation expand throughout the film, Lucas morphs into a bigger and more terrifying criminal, as demonstrated when he brutally guns down poor Idris Elba.
Basically, this is the perfect movie for any aspiring gangster to study, and Damson did just that. “I was American before they even saw my tape,” he continued, “I was just in character from then. While still in London, I was walking around the house speaking ‘American’.” As well as offering tips on how to perfect the right accent, Washington’s portrayal of Lucas also provided a blueprint for how to play an African-American criminal who demands respect, wherein race plays a big part in both stories, with Saint’s ‘Family’ comprising almost entirely of Black dealers.
Whatever lessons Idris took from American Gangster, they paid off big time as he was able to translate his favourite film into his own big screen career, and he did it without getting into a fight with any of his co-stars, too; well played, lad.
