Elba starred in the Netflix-commissioned movie this year, but revealed to Jonathan Ross that he nearly slipped and fell from a waterfall on set.
Idris Elba has revealed that he came close to death during the filming of his recent movie Beasts of No Nation when it was shooting on location in Ghana.
The ‘Luther’ actor, who has been rumoured to be Daniel Craig’s successor as James Bond for a long time now, said that it happened during the shooting of a tense scene near a waterfall as he slipped on a rock and the branch he was holding on to snapped off in his hands.
Recounting the scary incident to Jonathan Ross for his ITV chat show, the 43 year old admitted: “I nearly died. I was doing this scene - we decided to do this waterfall scene where all these child soldiers were walking behind this massive waterfall.”
Idris Elba revealed that he nearly died on the set of 'Beasts of No Nation'
“Cary Fukunaga, the director, decided to shoot it for real. We went to this waterfall and in this scene my character is standing there watching all the child soldiers go past. Now in the setup of that, the stunt co-ordinator says, 'Listen everyone, this is a waterfall, that's a 90, 100 foot drop down there and the ground is very slippery, just be careful!'”
More: Idris Elba says the UK is “moving in the right direction” when it comes to TV diversity
“I put my foot on this rock just to hang out and chill out while they were setting up and as I'm doing that it's slippery, obviously. I slip… I put my hand on this tree - it's not a tree, it's a branch. It snaps and I go literally about six feet before I go bang over and I got caught by the security guy!”
Elba found fame in 2002 with the success of crime drama ‘The Wire’, and his since won plaudits for his roles in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom and Thor. His new series of ‘Luther’ is due to air in the UK in December.
However, despite his public image for playing a range of ‘tough guy’ or stoic roles, he admits that he can’t watch Beasts of No Nation without shedding tears. “I can't stand seeing children suffer. I watch Toy Story and I start crying so let alone Beasts Of No Nation!”
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