Idris Elba tells Shelley Rubenstein about creating his own cognac, travelling to Ghana and getting married in Marrakech for WHEREVER.
Idris Elba, 52, is an actor, producer, DJ and campaigner. He was made an OBE in 2016 for services to drama, for television roles including The Wire, Luther and Hijack, and films Thor and Sonic 3. He lives with wife Sabrina Dhowre in West London and has two children from previous relationships, Isan, 23, and Winston, 10.
In 2017, I was in Vancouver filming The Mountain Between Us with Kate Winslet. We played a couple surviving in a cold climate and for authenticity, we worked in temperatures of -38 degrees, which was punishing on our bodies. Relaxing on my one day off, I went to a local club night, Slow Jam Sunday, where I met my now-wife, Sabrina, who was celebrating a friend’s birthday. We began dating and not long after, she visited me when I was back home, joining me for a weekend in France when I was invited to the Champagne Sanger school in Avize, a village in the northern Champagne region, to meet with the students. I couldn’t have written a more romantic scenario myself: sipping champagne, nibbling cheese in the vineyards.
Before the trip, I didn’t know anything about champagne production, but I learnt so much that when Sanger offered me the opportunity to have my own cuvée, we created Porte Noire Champagne.
When recently formulating our Cognac, I spent time at the Ferrand distillery, based in the stunning 18th-century Château de Bonbonnet. I did a deep dive into the history of the region, how Cognac is aged and the various types of barrels used.
Growing up in Hackney, East London, we didn’t go on family holidays. I’ve always wanted to see the world, but my dad was happy at home. The one time we went away when I was a kid, was for a weekend in Tilbury Docks, Essex. My uncle was DJing there, which I thought was so cool, and that inspired me to start DJing. But I always wanted to see the world. The first proper holiday I went on was a school trip when I was about 12. We started off on a boat somewhere on the south coast, known as The Barge, which was designed for school children to visit. It was already an amazing experience sleeping on a boat, but then they took us to the South of France, which I thought was incredible. We stayed on a school campus which also had tents and canopies and it was very aesthetically pleasing for kids. One day, I played out in the sun with my friends for so long, without sun cream, that my little back got sunburnt. All my mates came in and laughed when they saw me lying on my chest, with cooling yoghurt slathered over me.
My dad is from Sierra Leone and mum is from Ghana, but we never visited either country when I was growing up. The first time I visited Ghana was in 2015, when I was filming Beasts of No Nation. I took my mum with me – she has an older sister and some cousins there, and it was lovely – a big old family reunion. Ghana is beautiful and the food is delicious, particularly okra soup. I recommend going around the winter holidays, which west Africans call Detty December. It’s a time of festivals where there’s lots of partying, food markets and ceremonies on beaches celebrating African culture and marking the new year.
I finally visited Sierra Leone in 2019 as I’m part of a team working on a project to cultivate an eco-city on Sherbro Island in the Atlantic Ocean. On that trip, I was made an ambassador for Sierra Leone and an honorary citizen. I feel like I’m coming home when I visit and it warmed my heart when they called me a son of the soil.
Many countries in Africa are trying to develop their creative sectors. As a filmmaker, I’m front and centre in trying to help them be a part of that journey. Celebrity culture is so spoiled, we’re given so much, so if there’s an opportunity to help voices that don’t have much of an outlet, it’s not that difficult to repurpose some of that. We’re currently focusing on building film studios in Zanzibar and Ghana. The people make me feel so welcome and eventually, I’ll be spending more time over there working on the studios.
When we began filming The Wire in 2002, my first impression of Baltimore was that it reminded me of what old industrial towns like Manchester and Birmingham were like at the time, without much modern architecture. At that time, no one really cared about this little show on HBO and we blended into the community – I liked going to the Inner Harbour area, with its scenic waterfront and restaurants. Last time I was there, a few years ago, I was shocked by how much it’s changed. The high-rise buildings featured in the show have been knocked down and there’s a real buzz in the city.
We married in Marrakesh in 2019 because my wife’s from Eastern African heritage and I’m West African, and Morocco felt like it was in the middle. The ceremony was in a gorgeous old building and we held the party at Amanjena. My favourite place to travel is Africa. I love seeing the different countries like Kenya and Tanzania, where we honeymooned. We stayed at Singita which specialises in ecotourism and when we weren’t relaxing, we safaried and visited conservationists.
“IN BERLIN IN 2015, I PLAYED A WARM-UP SET FOR MADONNA. BEFORE GOING ONSTAGE, I DID A PRAYER HUDDLE WITH HER ENTIRE TEAM.”
Idris Elba’s Porte Noire Cognac is available at Harvey Nichols, Amathus, Master of Malt, Whisky Exchange and Porte Noire Kings Cross (shop and online).
https://www.portenoire.co.uk/product/porte-noire vsop-cognac-new-release
In 2013, when I was preparing to play Nelson Mandela in Long Walk to Freedom, I spent the night in a prison cell on Robben Island, 12km outside Cape Town, where Mandela was imprisoned from 1964 to 1982. I’d been given this incredible honour to portray this great man and up until that night, I hadn’t quite grasped the significance of having over 20 years of life stolen from him for speaking up and fighting for freedom. I had to persuade the authorities to let me stay there, and they finally agreed. It’s a place that holds a lot of bad memories and it’s definitely haunted. I heard strange noises throughout the night but I was the only person there. I had a bucket, a thin mattress and a blanket; they kept the lights on because that’s what they used to do and I didn’t sleep much. It was a scary experience, but it definitely gave me a stronger connection to Mandela and provided a different perspective on how to play him.
Ibiza is probably my favourite location to DJ. I’ve had regular residencies in venues like Pikes and Hï. I usually fly in after work on a Friday, returning to set by Monday, which I did while filming Suicide Squad in Atlanta in 2019. It was torture, but I try to enjoy myself, because I’m a dancing DJ and it’s not just the music that people love, it’s the energy you bring with it. Like in Barcelona, when I DJed at a festival with Fatboy Slim, which was so much fun.
I like keeping things simple and non-showy and I’m drawn to tropical destinations like Jamaica, where the people are so friendly and the food is great. I’ve stayed at Jakes at Treasure Beach, which is full of character and small, quiet places like Rockhouse in Negril. I also love Thailand and have been a few times. While I was in Koh Samui in 2016, the king died and we were grounded for the first part of the 30-day mourning period. I was training for my kick boxing fight, so I just trained harder and it was really good for me.
