In a recent interview on Sirius XM’s The Jess Cagle Show, Idris Elba opened up on some of the unconventional things he had to do to finance his acting dream. The 46-year-old mentioned selling weed as one of his “odd jobs” during that period. And he revealed veteran comedian Dave Chappelle was one of his clients, PEOPLE reported.
“I went to a performing arts college and did two years of everything –– scene painting, a little ballet, a little contemporary dance,” The Harder They Fall actor said about his early days of acting in London. “I came out and basically went straight into work.”
And though he eventually moved to America in search of a breakthrough, Elba recalled the first few years were tough. “It just all fell flat on its face very quickly for about four years,” he recalled. “In that time period, I did a lot of things that I’m not proud of. But I did a lot of the things.”
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The Obsessed actor then went ahead to reveal that he “used to sell weed” though “it wasn’t [legal] back then.” “I did that for a little bit just to pay the way,” he added.
Elba also said he took up jobs as a DJ and a doorman at a comedy club “which is fascinating now.” “When I meet the comedians you kind of remember the cool English guy with the funny accent and the little hair,” he added.
“Dave Chappelle remembers me ’cause he used to buy weed from me,” the 46-year-old revealed. “Anyway, moving on. But yeah, I did all kinds of things, to be honest.”
The British actor has since gone on to have a very stellar career in Hollywood. His music career is also going on well.
