Idris Elba on essaying Heimdall in Thor: It ripped my heart out

The actor recently spoke to The Telegraph UK about his “torturous” experiences while filming MCU’s Thor,

Source: Marvel

In a recent interview with The Telegraph UK, Idris Elba opened up about his “torturous” experience on essaying his role as the Norse God, Heimdall. Due to obligations as per his contract, the Suicide Squad actor was invited to reshoot a couple of scenes for Thor: The Dark World. His frustration also arose from the fact that he had just wrapped up filming Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, a biopic on the famous anti-apartheid revolutionary and beloved political figure, at that time where he essayed the titular role.

The actor went on to explain how his scene was shot. “I’m falling from a spaceship, so they had to put me in harness in this green-screen studio. And in between takes I was stuck there,” he said.

He continued that fake hair was stuck onto his head with glue including the helmet, while the scene was reset. He reminisces thinking about how he was Mandel just 24 hours ago and then later, he was “in this stupid harness, with this wig and this sword and these contact lenses. It ripped my heart out.”

Idris might have been coming from a space where he was facing constant racism for essaying a Norse god as a black man since they are generally worshipped by white folks from Scandinavian countries.

In 2011, while speaking at Rutgers University, the actor opened up on the controversy surrounding his casting. He implored why it was unbelievable for him, as an actor of African descent to essay a Norse God when Thor, a man, with his flying hammer and horns on his head exists.

Elba added that Elizabeth Taylor essayed the role of Cleopatra while Mahatma Gandhi was played by Ben Kingsley.

The actor is no stranger to fame. He has starred in BBC crime thriller series Luther, currently streaming on Amazon Prime video and will be seen in Netflix’s upcoming film The Harder They Fall alongside Regina King and Jonathan Majors. The Thor series is now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar with the fourth instalment, Thor: Love and Thunder, slated for a 2022 release.

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