From Stringer Bell to Stacker Pentecost, via Luther and Nelson Mandela, Idris Elba has already crafted himself a formidable legacy in front of the lens, on screens both big and small. But for his next move, Elba is stepping behind the camera — his directorial debut Yardie will be out this summer. The film follows D, a boy born in Jamaica who later moves to 1980s London, and was shot in his stomping ground of Hackney. Here’s an exclusive image of Elba on set with actor Antwayne Eccleston, who plays the young D.
Despite his experience on all kinds of shoots, Elba says the move to director was still a challenging one. “You lens something up in your head, then put an actual lens on and it looks nothing like it,” he told Empire. “Whether you believe in God or whoever, whoever created the brain and knowing how that works, give them fuckin’ credit, man. Because to recreate what you see in your mind’s eye onto a lens, it’s fuckin’ hard!”
You can read more about Yardie in the new Summer Movie Blowout issue of Empire, in shops now and available online here{
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