Idris Elba gets candid about wanting to play NBA legend Michael Jordan in a biopic film one day.
During an interview with Complex, actor Idris Elba opened up about asking the former Chicago Bulls player, Michael Jordan, if he could play him in a biopic while going sneaker shopping.
Elba said, “So Jordan had these wicked getaways in the Bahamas, you know what I’m saying? He would invite a bunch of people out. I think me and Gabrielle Union went out. We was promoting a movie, I think it might have been Daddy’s Little Girls, and you know, I was gassed to be at Jordan Weekend.”
He revealed that he met Jordan “once or twice,” but it was “just to say hello.”
Elba added, “I even said to him one time, ‘I want to play you.’ He was like,’ Hm, I’m not ready yet.’… I was dead serious.”
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“In my head, playing Jordan wouldn’t be about playing the basketball player. It was about the businessman. He is a very astute businessman, really smart. And his work as a philanthropist is unspoken, but people don’t understand the work. He cares. He does a lot of work. So that’s where I was hinting at. I wanna play Jordan. I’m doing that. He was like, ‘I’m not ready for that story yet.
Although we may not be seeing Elba as Jordan quite yet, and he won’t be our newest James Bond, Elba’s upcoming thriller film Beast is set to release on August 19, while his Cannes Festival film, Three Thousand Years of Longing will release on August 31.
Watch the full interview below:
