Preparing for his role as Nelson Mandela in a new biopic, Idris Elba spent a night in the jail where the former South African leader was locked up for nearly two decades. Mandela spent 18 years in the Robben Island prison in South Africa and Idris couldn’t wait to get out after only one night.

He said: “It was a s**t hole. I had a thin blanket for a mattress and that’s all there was between me and the concrete floor. They gave me a bowl. I had no water, nothing to drink at all. I was wearing my sweats and whatnot. I had two iPads to document myself and a cell phone. Mr. Mandela spent 18 years in the cell next to mine. It was a tiny room; the man turned the key and as I saw him walk away, it was plunged into darkness. I slept for about an hour in total.”

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