Idris Elba

Biography: Idris Elba grew up in Hackney, east London. His mother is Ghanaian and his father is Sierra Leonean. One of his first acting roles was in a British soap opera, Family Affairs. He has worked in a variety of TV roles including the BBC series Ultraviolet and The Inspector Lynley Mysteries. Elba is comfortable working in TV and on the big screen. He is best known as "Stringer Bell", the drug dealer who aspired to become a high powered businessman, in HBO's The Wire. In 2005, Elba starred in Sometime in April, an HBO film about the Rwandan genocide. After three seasons, Elba was free to do more motion pictures. He starred in Daddy's Little Girls and This Christmas. He costarred in The Gospel, The Reaping and 28 Days Later.

Elba has one daughter. He loves music and began DJing as a teen. He continues to DJ and has released a Hip-Hop EP.