10 Actors Who Peaked Way Too Soon
9. Idris Elba
As a celebrity, Elba has never been more famous. He has roles in Star Trek, and the Marvel and Fast & Furious extended universes. He’s pretty much inescapable at this point, and is no doubt making a great deal of money. In many ways, things are going great for the guy.
From a creative perspective, however, it wouldn’t be too harsh to suggest that he has been phoning things in for many years. Elba can be a performer who replaces acting with shouting, who seems to have no subtle touch whatsoever. He’s somehow capable of hamminess and woodenness at the same time - a skill of sorts, but not one you want to boast about.
Which is odd, because in his breakthrough role as Stringer Bell in seminal HBO drama The Wire, he is the complete opposite. As the wily drug lord Elba is thoughtful and calculating, reserved and brilliant.
It’s harsh to compare anything to The Wire, being as it is one of if not the greatest TV show ever, but it remains odd that so few directors play Elba to his strengths. Though the odds of him caring about this assessment one jot are, of course, less than zero.