Idris Elba has gushed with pride as he was able to bring Hollywood to Hackney for the premiere of his new blockbuster Beast.
The Luther star, 49, admitted it was a special feeling bringing the premiere of his latest work back to the borough he grew up in. The thriller, which was filmed in South Africa, follows the story of a man and his two teen daughters who are hunted by a lion while holidaying in the savannah.
It's the second movie Idris has filmed on the continent following the shooting of drama Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom in 2013.
Speaking to PA, the actor described how he felt "like an honorary South African when I go there" and explained his lover for that part of the world, explaining: "I have a very special love for it".
But closer to home, Idris, who plays Dr Nate Daniels in the new movie, was thrilled to take in the premiere at Hackney Picturehouse on Wednesday. He was joined by a number of famous faces, including Stormzy with whom he hugged on arrival.
Love Island's Joseph Garratt was also in attendance, as was Lisa Maffia, Pete Tong and Carolina Acosta.
Idris continued: "Not too far from here, I was raised on Dalston high street. I would never imagine that one day I would bring a film that I am in and helped make back to the borough. It feels very special. I’m proud of it. From Hackney to Hollywood.”
Speaking of the movie, the A-lister admitted it was hard to act with a CGI lion, calling it a slow process to get right.
"The lion is incredible in it. " he said. "When you see it, it is, ‘Wow’, but I remember painstaking layers to make that happen.”
He went on to add: "I haven't done a movie where I'm imagining — and fighting with — something that is not really there, in such close proximity. I've fought in other movies with swords and weapons and against things that aren't there.
"'But how fearful can you be when you've got a guy in a grey suit and a big floppy head trying to beat you? So that was a skill set that I had to learn."
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