Idris Elba spent “Night” in prison to prepare for the role of Nelson Mandela

Idris Elba recalls how he prepared to play Nelson Mandela In the movie of 2013 Mandela: The Long Walk to Freedom.

“In 2013, when I was Preparation for the game Nelson Mandela in the movie A long walk to freedomI spent the night in a prison cell on Robben Island, 12 km outside Cape Town, where Mandela was imprisoned from 1964 to 1982,” Elba, 52, wrote on Sunday, January 26, in an article for The Sunday Times.

He continued: “I was given the incredible honor of portraying this great man and until that night, I didn’t really understand the significance of having more than 20 years of his life stolen from him. I had to convince the authorities to let me stay there and they finally agreed.” .

Elba explained that the place “holds a lot of bad memories” and is “definitely haunting,” adding that he “heard strange noises throughout the night” even though he was “the only person.”

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“I had a bucket, a thin mattress and a blanket; They kept the light on because it was earlier and I didn’t sleep much,” Elba recalled. “It was a scary experience, but it definitely gave me a stronger connection to Mandela.”

The biopic chronicles Mandela’s life, including spending 27 years in prison before serving as South Africa’s first black president from 1994 to 1999.

Mandela died in 2013 at the age of 95 years. The news of his death was officially announced as the credits rolled during the London premiere Mandela: The Long Walk to Freedom. The entire assembly hall held a two-minute moment of silence at the end of the film. After the screening, the audience applauded and gave a standing ovation.

When the film was released in 2013, Elba recalled that he was nervous about showing the film to South African audiences.

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“They were very quiet in South Africa, and I wondered what was going on Diversity. “I thought maybe they wouldn’t like it, but they just absorbed it. You have to remember that the whole struggle for freedom in South Africa is about 25 years old. When we got there, the reaction was real.”

Manufacturer Anant Singh Also showed a scene from the film to Mandela and shared his reaction to Elba’s vision. “He saw Idris Elba as the old Mandela in Mandela prosthetics, and he’s like, ‘Is that me?’ “, he said, according to the outlet. “And it was very cute, and he smiled and laughed, so it was very good.”