Idrissa Akuna Elba, a British actor, paid a courtesy call to President Akufo-Addo while in Ghana and pledged to help the nation’s film industry, starting with his own movie that he plans to screen there. Numerous diasporas, including international celebrities, have developed a deep interest in Ghana as a result of the Year of Return and Beyond the Return programs.
Idris Elba is the most recent celebrity to establish a base in Ghana. To honor his Ghanaian roots, he plans to set up a film school, help improve film regulations, and set up a shooting location in Ghana (Idris Elba was born to Sierra Leonean Creole man and a Ghanaian woman).
Idris Elba spoke with the president on his plans for the homeland during a courtesy trip to the Jubilee House during his tour to Ghana. He compliments the NFA for assisting in the production of his projected “Ghanaian” feature when he discusses the Ghanaian film industry.
According to him: “The National Film Authority has done the work. Put together a comprehensive plan to propel Ghana into the forefront. It needs to be robust. It needs to be competitive. We believe for sure, and I know you believe in your legacy that you want to leave behind, that Ghana should step up to start attracting those filmmakers. What I want to do is that I have a film that I’m directing, and I’m hoping to bring that film, or at least some of that film, to shoot it in Ghana. That film will be here in December. We start pre-production in August. Some of the films, in two or three weeks, will be in Ghana by December.” Idris Elba stated that this endeavor will demonstrate to the world that Ghana is a business-friendly nation.
English actor Idrissa Akuna Elba OBE was born on September 6, 1972. He graduated from the National Youth Theatre in London and is most recognized for his performances as Nelson Mandela in the biographical movie Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom and Stringer Bell in the HBO series Luther. He was nominated four times each for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for Luther, winning the latter.
Elba’s earliest acting roles were in Crimewatch murder reconstructions, and in 1994 he had an appearance in The Boot Street Band, a BBC children’s drama. He received his first important part in 1995 on the medical drama series Bramwell, which was set in 1890s England. He portrayed Charlie Carter, an African petty criminal who lost his wife to delivery and had to figure out how to sustain his young daughter, as the main character in an episode of Season 1. His first known part came earlier in 1995 when he was hired to play a gigolo in the Absolutely Fabulous episode titled “Sex.”
After appearing in a minor part on a Law & Order episode in 2001, Elba was cast as the lead in the HBO drama series The Wire in 2002. Elba played Russell “Stringer” Bell in the television series from 2002 to 2004, which is possibly his most well-known part in the country. He played Captain Augustin Muganza in the HBO drama Sometimes in April on the Rwandan genocide in 2005. On the 2007 BET show Black Men: The Truth, Elba made an appearance. On The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, which was filmed in Botswana, he played Charlie Gotso.
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