Talking about his role in the new biopic Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom, Idris Elba admitted he couldn’t believe he was actually offered to portray the famous South African leader. Elba was so shocked by the offer that he thought his rep was just joking.

The actor was convinced that Denzel Washington, who had been considering the script, would be the one to play the anti-apartheid activist.

He tells the London Evening Standard, “My agent in South Africa said, ‘Do you want to play Nelson Mandela?’ I was like ‘Roger, shut up, I haven’t got time man, call me later – click. For a long time Denzel Washington had this script and was working with this team. Everyone in the industry knew Denzel would play Mandela one day. When they called me I couldn’t believe it. I am not going to lie, I was scared.

“It was tough to walk into a room with extras who had never seen me before. How do you get these people to look me in the eye when I was speaking and believe me as Mandela,” Idris added.

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