Idris Elba has revealed that he sold marijuana to ‘help pay the bills’ and was a weed-man for comedian Dave Chappelle before achieving fame.
The actor, 49, admitted that when he moved to America, he took jobs he was ‘not proud of’ and that his early attempts to break into acting ‘fell flat on its face’.
Idris was asked on Thursday’s Jess Cagle Podcast what ‘odd jobs’ he did while he was not studying and auditioning for roles.
Embed from Getty ImagesTo which Idris responded that he attended a performing arts college in London before beginning his career as an actor in a variety of plays before moving to America.
However, he stated that his career quickly ‘fell flat’ following the move, and he took on a variety of jobs to ‘help pay the way,’ including selling marijuana.
He stated: ‘I moved to America and it all just fell flat on its face very quickly for about four years. And in that time period, I did a lot of things. Some things I’m not proud of, but I did a lot of things.’
When host Jess pressed Idris about actions he was not proud of, Idris candidly replied: ‘I used to sell weed. Can I say that on the show?’
Embed from Getty ImagesWhen Jess joked that ‘it’s legal now, so you could take it up again,’ Idris responded jokingly, ‘it wasn’t back then’.
‘I did that for a little while to help pay the way, I DJed quite a bit,‘ he continued. I was a doorman at Caroline’s Comedy Club, which is fascinating now when I meet the comedians that – you kind of remember the tall English guy with the funny accent and the little hair.’
Idris started joking about selling marijuana to comedian Dave Chappelle, adding, ‘Dave Chappelle remembers me because he used to buy weed from me.’
