Staff Writer
Actor Idris Elba was left feeling “odd” the moment he learned that Nelson Mandela had died.
Elba was attending the world premiere of his Mandela biopic titled Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. He was watching himself play the former South African President when the devastating news began to spread through the auditorium.
He said it was “undoubtedly one of the strangest moments and beautiful moments of my life and career” in an interview on BBC Radio Two with Chris Evans.
Elba told Evans that he was in tears when he found out along with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who also attended the premiere.
Talking about the atmosphere in the room following the news, the Luther star said, “Literally halfway through the film, Mandela had passed and there was sort of a slight buzz around the auditorium.”
He also shared intimate details of the heart-touching moment of discovering the news.
“…The Duchess Kate sort of turned to me and looked at me as she had her phone and I wondered what was wrong with her because she looked quite emotional, but the film’s very emotional.
“And my girlfriend looked at me and handed the phone and I looked down and there it was, Mandela had passed and it was on a website. It was just the most surreal moment.
“I looked back at Prince William and Kate and they were just in tears with me. It was just odd, very odd.”
When the screening finished, Elba said that producers made the announcement of Mandela’s death which was followed by an “audible gasp.”
Prince William told reporters in the foyer of the cinema, “We were just reminded of what an extraordinary and inspiring man Nelson Mandela was. My thoughts and prayers are with him and his family. It’s very sad.”
Elba has also revealed that playing Mandela gave him inspiration to release a tribute album named Mi Mandela.
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom is currently out in the US and will open in the UK on January 3. You can see the movie trailer below.
http://youtu.be/hmm-aazQQKA
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