Born on September 6, 1972 in London, the capital of England, his full name is Idrissa Akuna Elba, and he is of Sierra Leonean origin. After studying at different schools, Elba worked as a DJ and even established a company to engage in rap music. Idris Elba, who started his acting career with television series in the 1990s, quickly made a name for himself and began to appear in many important TV series.
The movie that first introduced the name Idris Elba to the world of cinema was the 2007 movie Daddy’s Little Girls. The actor, whose star shines in the world of cinema, has appeared in many important films, as well as in films set in the DC and Marvel universes. In addition to being named the sexiest man alive twice, the films of Idris Elba, who has also been nominated for many important awards, really deserve to be watched again and again.
Some of the best Idris Elba movies:
- Concrete Cowboy
- Bastille Day
- The Mountain Between Us
- Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw
- Three Thousand Years of Longing
- Pacific Rim
- Long Walk to Freedom
- RocknRolla
- The Suicide Squad
- Molly’s Game
- Beasts of No Nation
A boy who clings to life thanks to horses: Concrete Cowboy
- Year: 2020
- Genre: Drama, Wester
- Director: Ricky Staub
- Cast: Idris Elba, Caleb McLaughlin, Lorraine Toussaint
- IMDb: 6.3
In the movie Concrete Cowboy, which is the cinema adaptation of the novel of the same name written by Greg Neri, we follow the life of a 15-year-old boy. One day, this young man named Cole is forced to move to North Philadelphia with his father. While he is having difficulty adjusting to this new place, he discovers horses and the doors of a new era in his life open.
The thieving pawn of the big game: Bastille Day
- Year: 2016
- Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
- Director: James Watkins
- Cast: Idris Elba, Richard Madden, Charlotte Le Bon
- IMDb: 6.3
Michael Mason, an American thief, steals a wallet in Paris. CIA agent Sean Briar catches this thief because there are much more important things in the wallet than money. Learning that Michael is actually part of a much larger conspiracy, the agent decides to spend a day with him and observe his thieving skills. This one day they spend together will seem like a lifetime to them.
Two castaways on the mountain: The Mountain Between Us
- Year: 2017
- Genre: Drama, Thriller
- Director: Hany Abu-Assad
- Cast: Kate Winslet, Idris Elba, Beau Bridges
- IMDb: 6.4
The movie The Mountain Between Us begins with a plane crashing on top of a snow-covered mountain. Ben Bass and Alex Martin, the two survivors of this accident, are strangers to each other, but somehow they become partners in fate. They saw that help was not coming and they started to fight on their own to escape. Now the fate of these two strangers is in each other’s hands.
One of the side stories of the legendary series: Fast & Furious Presents Hobbs & Shaw
- Year: 2019
- Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller
- Director: David Leitch
- Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Idris Elba
- IMDb: 6.5
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, one of the side story films of the legendary Fast & Furious series, focuses on the adventures of American agent Luke Hobbs and British agent Deckard Shaw. The duo, who are enemies of each other, are forced to work together when they hear that the world is facing a biological threat. But it will not be easy for the two of us to work together.
Demons also like: Three Thousand Years of Longing
- Year: 2022
- Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Romance
- Director: George Miller
- Cast: Tilda Swinton, Idris Elba, Erdil Yaşaroğlu
- IMDb: 6.7
Alithea is a scholar. One day, a Genie appears before him when he least expects it. This Genie has been living imprisoned in a jar for three thousand years. When they start chatting in a hotel room in Istanbul, the Genie asks Alithea to save him, and in return, she will grant him three wishes. Alithea accepts the offer, but the realization of her wish takes events to a point they never expected.
Robots against creatures from the seas: Pacific Rim
- Year: 2013
- Genre: Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
- Director: Guillermo del Toro
- Cast: Idris Elba, Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kikuchi
- IMDb: 6.9
Creatures called Kaiju from under the sea are coming to the earth, humanity is in great danger. When these creatures start killing people, giant warrior robots called Jaeger are produced. There are only two pilots controlling all these robots. As time goes by, some problems begin to emerge in robots. Now humanity has only one hope.
Mandela’s real life story: Long Walk to Freedom
- Year: 2013
- Genre: Biography, Drama, History
- Director: Justin Chadwick
- Cast: Idris Elba, Naomie Harris, Terry Pheto
- IMDb: 7.1
The movie Long Walk to Freedom, which tells the real life story of Nelson Mandela, the former South African President who devoted his entire life to the struggle for freedom, tells the story of Mandela’s struggle that lasted for many years, starting from birth.
London’s dark underworld: RocknRolla
- Year: 2008
- Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
- Director: Guy Ritchie
- Cast: Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Idris Elba
- IMDb: 7.2
We are guests in the dark backstreets of London in the movie RocknRolla, directed by Guy Ritchie, one of the important names of British independent cinema. Lenny Cole, a former gangster, wants to gather the entire criminal world of London under his command. Every step he takes on this path will have very bloody consequences.
Villains of the DC universe: The Suicide Squad
- Year: 2021
- Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy
- Director: James Gun
- Cast: Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena
- IMDb: 7.2
The Suicide Squad movie, in which we watch all the evil characters in the DC Comics universe together, begins in Belle Reve prison, where all these villains are kept. These evil characters are given a mission and they all have to accept it. The established suicide team will be left on the island of Corto Maltese and the team members will dive into an adventure at the expense of their lives.
From the Olympics to prison: Molly’s Game
- Year: 2017
- Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama
- Director: Aaron Sorkin
- Cast: Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner
- IMDb: 7.4
In the movie Molly’s Game, which is the cinema adaptation of the autobiographical novel written by Molly Bloom, we follow the real life story of the author. After Molly Bloom achieved Olympic degrees in skiing, she quit these jobs and started organizing poker tournaments. The FBI goes after him for money laundering and he is arrested. His lawyer’s only goal now is to prove that he is innocent.
Africa’s child soldiers: Beasts of No Nation
- Year: 2015
- Genre: Drama, War
- Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga
- Cast: Idris Elba, Abraham Attah, Emmanuel Affadzi
- IMDb: 7.7
In the movie Beasts of No Nation, which is the cinema adaptation of the novel of the same name written by Uzodinwa Iwala, we watch a side of Africa that we have never seen before. Agu, our main character in the movie, is a child soldier and what happens to him is much scarier than what we watch on television.
Bonus: Thor and the Avengers series
Idris Elba played Heimdall, one of the most important characters in the Marvel world, even if he is not one of the main characters. We had the chance to watch him as Heimdall in the films Thor, Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok, Thor: Love and Thunder, Avengers Age of Ultron and Avengers Infinity War.
We have listed some of the best movies starring Idris Elba, one of the most successful male actors in the world of cinema and television. Of course, this list could be much longer. You can share the Idris Elba movies you want to be on our list in the comments.