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

Idris Elba recalls how he prepared to play Nelson Mandela In the 2013 film Mandela: A Long Walk to Freedom.

“In 2013 when I was Getting ready to play 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 quite grasp the significance of him stealing over 20 years of his life. 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 haunted”, adding that he “heard strange noises throughout the night” even though there was “only one person”.

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“I had a bucket, a thin mattress and a blanket; they kept the lights on because that’s what they did and I didn’t sleep much,” Elba recalled. “It was a scary experience, but it definitely gave me a stronger connection with Mandela.”

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

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

When the film was released in 2013, Elba recalled being nervous to show the film to South African audiences.

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“They were very quiet in South Africa and I was wondering what it was all about,” he recalled Variety. “I thought they didn’t like it, but they just absorbed it. You have to remember that the entire freedom struggle in South Africa is about 25 years. When we got there, the reaction was real. “

Manufacturer Anant Singh he also showed a scene of the film for Mandela and shared his reaction to seeing Elba. “He saw Idris Elba as the old Mandela in Mandela Prosthetics and he’s like, ‘Me, me?’ “He said, to the drawer. “And it was very cute and he smiled and laughed, so it was very good.