Idris Elba thinks young people need to “speak out about what matters.”
The 47-year-old actor remembers enjoying a happy childhood in east London, even though he was surrounded by crime and poverty, and he has now encouraged young people to “make things better” for future generations.
Speaking at WE Day UK 2020 at the SSE Arena in London on Wednesday, March 4, 2020, Elba shared: “Happy is my normal. Yes, there was crime. Yes, there was poverty. Yes, there were gangs.
“Some of the people I grew up with, people I saw around the neighborhood, went down the wrong path, ended up doing the wrong thing.
“I was different. I was lucky, maybe. I wanted different things.”
He credits his parents for setting him on the road to success.
The Hollywood star explained that they taught him “the importance of independence” and hard work.
He said: “I was an only child by immigrant parents from Sierra Leone, West Africa. And they worked hard for what they had. This way of life taught me the importance of independence and relying on myself for my own success.”
Click continue to read more of what he had to say.
