Hollywood star Idris Elba is being considered as a potential Labour candidate for Mayor Of London, a new report had revealed.
In an article by The Sun (reported via The Standard), sources close to the political party reportedly said they were interested in him as a candidate following his documentaries and activism surrounding knife crime in the capital. Elba made the documentary Our Knife Crime Crisis, which aired in February, and has been vocal on ways to combat the problem.
The current Mayor of London is Sir Sadiq Khan, the Labour candidate who was elected to the position in 2016. He is expected to step down before the next mayoral election, which is estimated to be in 2028. He is the longest-serving Mayor of London since the creation of the position in 2000, surpassing the tenures of previous mayors Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson.
“Idris has star appeal — but he is also a thoughtful political campaigner,” a source told the paper. “Labour (has) a choice about who we choose to run in London. We can pick a Labour insider and try to make them famous. Or we can pick someone famous aligned with Labour. Idris would be at the absolute top of our wish list”.
Elba was born in Hackney and currently lives in east London. He is best known for television shows The Wire, Luther, and the US version of The Office; as well as movies Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, Hobbs & Shaw, and the Thor films.
Recently, Idris Elba spoke about his desire to appear in a live action version of Cyberpunk 2077, which he appeared in as part of the Phantom Liberty DLC. “I think if any film could do a live-action rendition, it could be [Cyberpunk 2077]” he said. “I think [Keanu Reeves’] character and my character together would be, ‘Whoa.’ So, let’s speak that into existence”.
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