Idris Elba Stopped Calling Himself a ‘Black Actor’

Idris Elba is tired of being put in a box. The actor, who is returning as his iconic detective Luther in Netflix’s upcoming movie “Luther: The Fallen Son,” recently told Esquire UK that he has stopped calling himself “a Black actor” after it became a constrictive label on his career.

“Of course, I’m a member of the Black community,” Elba said. “You say a prominent one. But when I go to America, I’m a prominent member of the British community. ‘Oh, U.K.’s in the house!’ If we spent half the time not talking about the differences but the similarities between us, the entire planet would have a shift in the way we deal with each other.”