Idris Elba explains why his character in ‘The Wire’ was “a problem”
British actor Idris Elba has enjoyed a steady rise in popularity since his introduction to the industry in the mid-1990s, appearing in menial TV roles in Absolutely Fabulous, Silent Witness and The Bill. Two decades later, the actor is a well-known Hollywood name, enjoying collaborations with filmmakers like Cary Joji Fukunaga, Taika Waititi, Tom Hooper, James Gunn, Andrew Stanton, Justin Lin, Guy Ritchie and Ridley Scott.
Steadily, Elba grew in popularity, taking roles that eased his star persona into the limelight, taking major parts in TV shows Ultraviolet and The Governor, which attracted a certain US production company. Well-known as one of the best TV series ever made, HBO created The Wire in 2002 and employed Elba to play the part of Russell ‘Stringer’ Bell, a shrewd and business-savvy individual who was second-in-command to drug kingpin Avon Barksdale (Wood Harris).
Appearing alongside such names as Dominic West, Lance Reddick and the late Michael Kenneth Williams, Elba helped to make the crime series, following the Baltimore drug scene, through the eyes of drug dealers and law enforcement, truly iconic.
“At the time it was a small role in a TV show; it was a massive opportunity for a) me to come out of poverty, and b) be seen on an HBO show,” Elba told James O’Brien’s podcast alongside David Lammy, exclaiming, “I don’t think it was ever written to be the legacy that it’s become”. Released shortly after the turn of the new millennium, the series came out at the perfect time to benefit from the rise of personal DVD players and cable TV popularity.
Though he is proud of the part he had to play in the series, he does regret that fans of the show so glorified his character. “We’re all idolising Stringer Bell, but who are we really idolising?” he told the podcast, adding, “Are we idolising a smart drug dealer or a dumb narcotics dealer? What are we saying here? Is it okay to pump a community full of heroin, but because you’re smart at it that makes you cool?”.
Having always advocated for diversity and inclusion for black actors in film and television, Elba states that the appreciation for his character “was a problem for me”.
Continuing in his concerns for the character’s reception, he adds, “We celebrate him because he’s a drug dealer and we can put him in a box – but oh, by the way, he’s learning in school, and he’s very articulate. The irony of it used to just make me laugh”.
Glamourising violence and crime are often a problem when it comes to such shows as The Wire, Top Boy and The Sopranos, with key characters in each programme often idolised by fans for their style and social power. “The truth of the matter is most drug dealers go to jail at some point in their lives. They get caught,” Elba expresses, before rightfully stating, “It doesn’t matter how successful they are. It doesn’t matter how good to the community they are. They will end up getting caught because what they’re doing is illegal. As much as people celebrated the character, the harsh reality is that you either get shot or go to jail”.
Take a look at the full interview between Elba and Lammy, below.
