A few weeks ago Idris Elba came in for criticism from some Marvel fans for his comments about working on Thor: The Dark World, where he was quoted as saying that “it ripped his heart out” to find himself harnessed up in a green-screen studio as Heimdall after portraying Nelson Mandela in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.
Naturally these comments were interpretted as Elba expressing displeasure with his time on the film, with some reports even going as far as to suggest he may want out of his contract with Marvel Studios. Well, that’s not the case at all, as the British actor has now clarified his position during an interview with The Daily Beast, blaming sloppy journalism and misquoting for the mix-up:
“I don’t know where people got that, man. I was quite specifically talking about the comparison between playing Heimdall on one day, and playing Mandela on the next. That’s sloppy journalism, or just really bad misquoting. I have a great relationship with the Marvel team, and the character of Heimdall. People are really running with this thing like, ‘Oh my God, he doesn’t want to be with Marvel anymore.’ People thinking that comparing those roles means I don’t want to be with Marvel, well, that’s crazy.”
Elba will next be seen as Heimdall in Avengers: Age of Ultron, before presumably reprising the role of Thor: Ragnarok.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UjZ2TF1kEjE&list=PL18yMRIfoszH_jfuJoo8HCG1-lGjvfH2F
Originally published December 11, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
