If I was gonna go to jail, I don't want to go to jail for stealing a bottle of water. I'll steal that $20 million. At least then it was worth it.

In some countries, no one knows who Idris Elba is.

It could be Grammy night, Oscar night, whatever - I don't feel the pressure to be there.

It's actually quite criminal how 'The Wire' was systematically ignored.

Not obsessed with particularly Nike, but sneakers in general. I love them.

People expect me to be that guy. But I'm more east London boy than east Baltimore.

The English are good at bad guys - the James Bond-style villain, cunning, slow-burning. The Americans are much more obvious about it.

The less I talk about being black, the better.

The only thing I change mainly is my sneakers. I love sneakers. But everything's sort of black or jeans. Jeans, always.

There has been a big debate about it: can a black man play a Nordic character?

There's a fast-track if you can do the networking. For some personalities it works, but for mine it doesn't.

Twenty or 30 years from now, I'm going to be on a beach in Jamaica.

What really excites me in a project is when it goes in a way you haven't been before.

When I was a kid, I thought it was tough.

Whether it's music or acting, that creativity all comes from the same source.

Yeah, I know, any time you hear an actor say, 'I do music', you cringe. But I want to be gradual with my music. I want to earn my stripes.

You watch yourself age and it's hard to feel like a sex symbol.

In 'Pacific Rim' I had to have a haircut I wouldn't usually rock. However, the moustache I had in the film - that might have to come out again. It was a good moustache. Good times.

Apparently, Daniel Craig said I'd be a great Bond. Daniel, why did you say that? Dropped me right in it! What an honor it would be, but also, what an indication of change.

Because I was big, I didn't have to listen to anyone doubting me. I was just considered good at football or whatever, there were no questions about it.