Idris Elba is opening up about why he doesn’t refer to himself as a “Black actor”

• The 50-year-old actor discussed racism he has encountered during his career in a new piece.
• Our skin is no more than that: it’s just skin, he added.
• He accept that it is part of my path to be aware that, in many circumstances.

The 50-year-old actor discussed racism he has encountered during his career in a new piece for the spring 2023 issue of Esquire UK, adding that he has “stopped presenting 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,” he added.

He “accept(s) that it is part of my path to be aware that, in many circumstances, I might be the first to look like me to do a given thing,” according to the Luther: The Fallen Sun actor.

Elba said, “And that’s excellent, to leave as part of my legacy. “In order for other people—Black children as well as White children growing up in similar situations to mine—to be able to see that someone from Canning Town eventually ended up doing what I do. It is feasible.”

While acknowledging that “racism is extremely real,” Elba added that he thinks that “the entire planet would have a shift in the way we deal with each other if we spent half the time not talking about the differences but the commonalities between us.”

“As humans, we are obsessed with race,” the British actor continued. “And that obsession can really hinder people’s aspirations, hinder people’s growth.”

“Racism should be a topic for discussion, sure. Racism is very real. But from my perspective, it’s only as powerful as you allow it to be,” he added.

Elba claimed that he didn’t pick his profession because “I didn’t see Black people doing it and I wanted to change it” but rather because he “felt that’s a great profession and I could do a good job at it.”

“You will be questioned about what it’s like to be the first Black person to do this or that as you move up the ladder. The situation is exactly the same as it would be if I were White, “He clarified. “For me, this is a first. Not wanting to be the first Black person. I am the original Idris.”

The Beast actor said that he is frequently questioned about his experiences with racism and responded, “Yeah,” but added, “I don’t go to my Black friends, in discussion, and ask them to tell me about racism.”

He clarified, “But he’s “neither less Black nor Black because I’m in a Black region, but neither is there because I’m in a White area. I am Black.”

“And wherever I go, every day, whether it is through Black neighborhoods with White residents or White neighborhoods with Black residents, that skin follows me. I’m still Black “stated Elba.

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