Idris Elba Wants to Fight While Eating Spicy Wings | Hot Ones

Let me ask you a question. Whose idea was this show? So, see that guy right there in the blue shirt? Yeah. His name's Chris. What's in it? Chris, right? Can you fight Chris? Hey, what's going on everybody? For First We Feast, I'm Sean Evans and you're watching Hot Ones. It's the show with hot questions and even hotter wings. And today we're joined by Idris Alba. He's one of Hollywood's biggest stars with an extraordinary career in film and television that spans more than 20 years. A renaissance man, a DJ, and he has his own fashion line, Two Hours Set. You can also catch him starring alongside Dwayne Johnson in Hobbs & Shaw, which is set to theaters on August 2nd. Idris Alba, welcome to the show. Thank you so much, man. You forgot rapper. Also a rapper. You didn't know? Well, we'll get to that here in just a second. We don't have to. We don't have to. But Idris, I know that you enjoy a side of hot sauce with your eggs and steak in the morning. I actually do, yes. How do you think you'll fare today against the wings? I'm pretty confident. I'm pretty confident. Here's why. Because I fear no one. It's pretty decent. I mean, look, you know, my mom, West African, cooks with real spices. And that was when I was just four years old. So, you know, I mean... You have a good foundation there. I have a good foundation, yeah. Yeah. So I want to start by mentioning Hobbs & Shaw and specifically your interest in cars, which I know goes much deeper than just the Fast & Furious franchise. And in the film, you drive this motorcycle that can do a little bit of everything. Are you into the cutting edge technology and gadgets that are showing up in cars these days? Are you more of an old school motorhead? Man, I sort of, I'm cross, you know, in between the two because I really, really, I'm a petrol head. I like the smell of old leather. I love the smell of, you know, gasoline going through the thing. But what's happening with the innovation of cars and technology is incredible. I mean, we are becoming one with our cars. You know, you can open your car with your phone, you can turn the AC on before you get in it, the engine. The bike is, you remember like Knight Rider? Right. Bit like Kit and old David Hasselhoff. Like an extension of you. You saw that, right? And David Hasselhoff had a decent leather jacket. I went for that look as well. So as a lifelong hip hop obsessive, where did recording the intro to Jay-Z's American Gangster rank in terms of your career accomplishments? It's up there in top five. Really? Real talk, yeah. Because I have always had this hybrid dream of being an actor and a musician and that my music and my films live together in one way, one world. And here I was in an American Gangster and I'm making this film with Denzel. It was a moment in my life. And then I hear from Ridley Scott himself, Jay-Z's going to do an album. I'm like, what? I got to be on that album. I said in my brain, not to Ridley, but to myself, I'm going to be on that album. And so the next thing you know, I'm sending Jay-Z this poem I writ. I've written this poem, this sonnet. I worked with a good friend of mine, Angel, and she and I pulled together this poem. We pulled this beat together from my boy Chris Flame and we went in. Sent it to Jay-Z like this. Let's hope he likes it. And he sent me an email back saying, I don't like it. I ******* love it. It's going to be on the intro of American Gangster. And that was the beginning of the dream, bro. That was the beginning, like, you know, dream big. It can happen for you. And then on the topic of rap music, Hot Ones creator Chris Schoenberger, he's obsessed with that Kano song, Roadman's Him, which actually references you, because I think you guys are from the same neighborhood. Shout out to Kano. He's a legend in the UK hip hop scene. Big up to Kano, yeah. So for our viewers who are maybe not familiar with British hip hop, can you give us your top five Dead or Alive UK edition? Are you going to put me in a spot like that? Okay. I'm going to say, in no particular order, Demon Boyz, which some of you will not know, but that was one of the first rap groups that I fell in love with in England. I'm going to put Black Twang on there. I'm going to put the London Posse on there. I'm going to have to put Stormzy on there. I'm going to have to put Dizzy on there. I'm going to have to put Giggs on there. I mean, I know that's six and I can count, but it's just, you know, in terms of UK hip hop, right, we have to remember is that for a long time, we emulated America. We emulated them. We even rapped in American accents just because we thought it was cool. And we didn't think our music would be accepted. And now we don't even listen to American rap music as much. You know, we have our own labels, we have our own stars, and it feels very good, very healthy. It was light work. Oh, Kevin, man, what was he doing? I saw you sweating. So in 2017, you released a documentary that followed your year-long journey training for eventually competing and winning your kickboxing professional debut. And maybe this sounds like a bizarre question, but when you knock someone out, the water slurp. Huh? It's a technique. It's like a, you talk about engines, like a cooling technique. Innovative. When you knock someone out, is it just a pure thrill of victory feeling, or is there a part of you that's like concerned for the other person? It's a great question because in my training, the concern lives in sparring. When you hit someone really hard in sparring, you're concerned for them, you know, because they're concerned for you. They're letting you know when they hit you that I got you. Keep your arm up, keep your ribs covered or whatever. But when you're in a fight situation, and I did not notice, I've never been a professional fighter until that moment, there is no concern for each other. He came out to take my head off, and he fell. I was 43 at the time. Like, this guy was way younger than me. He was going to beat me, but I wasn't having that. So there's no room for concern is the short answer. You just have to go in there, and it's like man against man, you know? Dwayne Johnson gives you one free shot. Where and how do you hit him? If I had to hit Dwayne one time, and no disrespect, Dwayne, I love you, pal, but I'm going for your neck. Right in there, bro, because like, you know, I just, at least if you get up from it, you'll be winded, and I would have reached halfway down the block by that point. You know what I'm saying, Sean? Like, I'm going for the neck. Okay. Very strategic. All right, you're ready to move on to four. Lucky dog, year of the dog. Oh, yeah? Well, I have to tell you, I expected some real competition on these hot ones. We'll remember. We'll remember. It just said this. Last time I was in London was in 2017, and I got a crash course in British slang from Charlie Sloth. So here I'm hoping you can take me to finishing school, but first things first. Can you explain what Cockney rhyming slang is? Did it come from your neck of the woods? So Cockney rhyming slang, I have to give you a brief history in London history. The Cockneys are a community. They're a people. You might have seen them. They have these amazing pearl laced jackets. They, you know, parade. Those are the Cockneys, and you can only be a Cockney if you were born within the three mile radius of a church called the Bow Church, and it was called the Bow Bells because when the church rang, you could hear the bells for three miles. If it was outside of the three miles, you could not be a Cockney, but if you could hear the bells within the three mile radius, you are technically a Cockney. Now, Cockney rhyming slang was almost like code speak. You know, like, you ever been to jail? No. Me neither, but irrelevant. In jail, they would say, you know, pass me the bloody blah to mean the bloody blah, right? And Cockney rhyming slang did a similar sort of thing. It's kind of like, you know, I'm going to go to the apples and pears, and that would rhyme with stairs. So you're going up the apples and pears stairs. So you want to say to your boy, I'm going to be, meet me at the apples and pears. You don't want anyone else to know. That's what Cockney rhyming slang is. What is a crepe? When someone says a crepe, what's a crepe? A crepe is a sneakers, isn't it? It's your shoes, like, you know, you've got your crepes. I don't know where it comes from. I think it might be French derivative, but it's your crepe, isn't it? It's like, yeah. What do they mean when they say Bob's your uncle? Because I'm always like my uncle Steve. I got another one named Brian. It's a confirmation that you're going down the right track. You know what I'm saying? It's like, you know, go down the road, make a left. You'll see the shop on the right. Bob's your uncle. It's there. And it means, it just means confirmation. You're there. What would you want Idris Elba to mean in Cockney rhyming slang? Be more like. I like that. You know what? I'm going to do me old Idris Elba tonight. Los Calientes, eh? No so Los Calientes. Caliente no mas. Is that Spanish? That's pretty good. That's terrible. That's well done. All right, so we have a recurring segment on our show called Explain That Gram where we do a deep dive on our guest's Instagram, pull interesting pictures that need more context. Don't do that. So I'll bust out the laptop. I'll show you the picture and you just tell me the bigger story. Does that sound good? Really? It's going down. It is going down. All right. I'm sweating over here though. First things first. Here you are with Thierry Henry. Arsenal legend. Who's your favorite gunner of all time? Favorite gooner of all time has to be Ian Wright. Ian Wright, I love you Thierry. You're my guy. But Ian Wright is a legend. He's from my neck of the woods. Just seeing him step into the Arsenal shirt, kill it as one of the greatest strikers Arsenal's ever seen, was like there is hope for all of us. So yeah, big up to Ian Wright. All right. Here you are getting a fit off at Diddy's Royal Birthday Ball in 2004. Is it true that you met Diddy when you were 14 years old? Not 14. It was about 18 years old. Diddy was doing these incredible, and I have to say shout out to Diddy for doing these. He was doing these incredible talks as part of music seminars. And we had this one music seminar in London, in Islington. And this is just before the height of Bad Boy came alive. And in rolls in, P. Diddy. And I got to ask him a question. And everyone was like, but this is Puff Daddy from America. You know, biggie small, the whole lot. And then as he was leaving, everyone was standing up, clapping. And he came down the middle, and I put my hand up and he missed me. And I was like, oh ----. Okay. I love you Did. And that was the end of that. I know. I know you expected the high five. It never came. But however I was like this, I missed him, buddy. He definitely saw me. That was my G. And then one more for you. Do you have a lasting memory from this party at Greenhouse? TI, Drake, and then of course Nipsey Hussle. I met Drake that night and Nipsey that night. And I just remember they were, you know, Nipsey was a fan of The Wire, Drake too. And, you know, they were giving me mad love. And we were just in this group, just lads having fun. There's a couple more pictures from that series that Arunde probably has. But what was interesting about The Wire is that I, you know, my character Stringer Bell and Avon and Weebay, you know, we captured the imagination of the rap stars. We captured the rap, the imagination of the hip-hop stars, just because that was partly their journey. Most rappers had, you know, been on the streets at some point, and The Wire represented them. So I was like, you know, grandfathered into the culture. And the rappers and I definitely had a, you know, until they heard me speak. Until it was like, all right, mate, you're ******* amazing. You're all right. He's like, Stringer? What? You English, nigga? What? You know, Kevin said, I'm getting high. I kind of get where he's going. Oh, now we're talking. Okay, now it says Taste No Evil. I mean, who puts that on their marketing? Hellfire, Detroit, Taste No Evil. This is good. This is by far my favorite. Really? Favorite, yeah. And it's hot. So in a 2010 New York Times profile, you talked about being fascinated by the career of somebody like Daniel Day-Lewis, who's able to have this viable, huge career in acting while simultaneously maintaining a private life. And since that time, we've gotten further away from that version of a movie star. Do you have any thoughts on how celebrity is handled in the media? Like, do you still yearn for that sense of privacy? That's a great question because, you know, my career spans over a couple of decades. I was talking to my publicist about this, you know, how the trends have changed. You get, you know, we want to know more. We want to know more. We want to do, we don't just want to do an interview. We want to eat hot wings with you. You know, we want to, and that is a sign of the times. You know what I mean? I feel like, and I have a theory behind it. It may be controversial, but reality TV changed the game because you don't have to watch an actor pretend to cry when you can watch real people cry in real life. And then you start to see the difference between acting and reality. When someone's prepared to bare their soul on TV, why are you going to watch an actor? So that changed the game for a lot of us because they were like, yeah, he's so mysterious. Who cares? I got someone over here who's bearing their soul out in their, their real life. And I get to know who they are. My personality in real life is probably way more disappointing than my characters that I get to play. I play way more interesting characters than who I am in real life. However, that said, I don't miss the days where you could be mysterious. I don't actually miss that. I don't like the obsession with celebrity. I think it's unhealthy. It's unhealthy for a lot of reasons, but if you're going to, everyone's going to have a picture, a camera on their phone. You're going to expect an obsession with celebrity. You're going to expect that. People used to walk around with autograph books. Now they don't. They want the picture. Oh, good tasting. Okay. Oh, he wasn't playing. Oh my God. Put that one over there. All right, let me try that. There you go. You see what I'm saying? It's like a percolator. It's like a, it's like a cooling system. Cooling it down. Jesus, I'm sweating over here. So I know that getting the role of Stringer Bell in The Wire, it was a huge break in your career. And then of course that show has aged so well, constantly topping lists of the best TV shows ever made. Is it true that David Simon didn't know that you have an accent when you were cast? Yeah. We love him. It's cool. So David Simon specifically told Alexa Fogel, who is the casting director, listen, this is about Baltimore. I want to see no non-Americans for any of these roles. I need people that can really relate to the story I'm trying to tell which is a very fair thing to ask for considering how observant he is of the culture. So Alexa Fogel was a casting director that was really into seeing new talent. And she met me and then she said, I love you. I got to bring you into this audition, but you got to promise me you can't tell them you're from East London. I'm like, what? You got to walk in there. You got to talk with your accent. You live in Brooklyn, right? You got to sit in a barbershop, talk all day. So my first audition, I walked in there and I had to just pretend she's outside the door. She's like, remember, don't go in there with an English accent. Hey, here he is, Idris Elba, ladies and gentlemen. So I sat in there and I did my first audition and David Simon was like, oh, great, great. Let's do it one more time and just have another go. And then the fourth audition, they changed the tactics on me because by this point I was good with the accent. I was like, boom, I was walking in there like, yo, what up, David? What up, man? What's good? He's like, yeah, great. And the Irish man started talking to me. He goes, hey, Idris, talk to me about your life. Huh? He's like, yeah, just talk to me. What's so funny? Now, this is the moment of truth because my parents told me not to lie. You know what I mean? You got to look someone in the eye and be honest. I have lied. It's never worked out for me. So I was looking at this guy thinking, nigga, you know I'm not from Brooklyn. Don't ask me where I'm from. Just ask me to read the lines and we can get out of here. And he was Irish, so I could tell he had this twinkle in his eye. He was like, no, come on, brother. Where are you from? And I said, listen, mate, I'm from London, bro. I'm born and raised in East London. Don't fire Alexa, but she told me not to tell you guys. And he jumped up and went, I knew it. I knew it, David. I knew it. David was like, wow. OK. And true story, he said, Idris, I'm going to give you the job. And then he burst into tears because it was a tough time for me at them times. And he said, I'm not going to give you Avon, but I think you could play Stringer Bell. And he told me why. And that was it. It's amazing. True story. Oh, ----. Was being the top scorer for the Under 9s Canning Town Football Club your first brush with greatness? Well, OK, let me just get this straight. The old Canning Town Under 9s thing, that was a joke. That wasn't real. I just said that for the commercial. You're talking about I see what you're trying to do. Did taking the 2017 title for Britain's Rear of the Year have any tangible effect on your life? Shit, hold up. And I didn't even know I was nominated. It made me a bit interested in like, who the **** is looking at my ass to nominate me for having a backside? Jesus Christ, that is hot. Which made you feel more famous, hosting the Met Gala or hosting SNL? The Met Gala. I had Lady Gaga coming up to me, Rihanna, Beyoncé coming up to me, shaking my hand. I felt super famous. And Anna Wintour, bless her heart, you know, she championed me as someone who should host it. Half the people didn't even know who I was. They're like, who? Oh, okay. You was on the Y? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. My dad seen that. It was great, apparently. Great. But when I did SNL, when I did SNL, that was one of the pinnacles of my life. First of all, because, golly boy, I can't even speak. My mouth is actually numb. Careful around your eyes. Don't get it in my eyes. Yeah, yeah, careful around there. Anyway, it was a pinnacle. I got to speak to a New York audience about my journey in New York, being on SNL and being a host. It was incredible. All right, Idris. Okay, bro. Are you ready to move on? No. I mean, yeah. Like I said, man, I am going to be the hottest, hottest, hot one. And I ain't scared of nothing or nobody. You know what? I tell my children, Issy, Winston, Riaz, I ain't scared of nobody or nothing. Let me ask you a question, buddy. Sure. Sure. Let me ask you a question. Whose idea was this show? So, see that guy right there in the blue shirt? Yeah. His name's Chris. What's your name? Chris, right? Can you fight, Chris? You might have to, buddy. We don't have to talk about this. Do you have any other bright ideas coming up in your little brain box over there? Jesus Christ, I'm about to pass out. So, when you're not doing summer blockbusters or doing cult TV shows like Luther, I know that you're a globe-trotting DJ who hits every place from Coachella to Ibiza. And your roots behind the turntables, they go really deep. Can you explain the pirate radio scene for those who are unfamiliar? Yeah, absolutely. The pirate radio scene really started off somewhere in the 70s. I want to say 70s, early 80s. There was a radio station called Caroline Radio, which was like this radio station that pitched up on a ship. Why they did that is because they found that they could hijack a frequency. And the people that controlled that basically couldn't find them because they was on a boat. And they were like, who is this station, Radio Caroline? And they killed it. It started a trend. Cut to the mid-80s, early 90s. It was all the rage, especially for urban music, for black music, where we want to talk about our neighborhood. We want to talk about things that we see every day. Excuse me, I just spat all over your face. It's okay. It happens on the show. Really? We're in this together. Let me dab you down, man. You're sweating over there, bro. Thank you, bro. Oh, ----, I just wiped it I worked on Pirate Radio for about two years. I was on two stations, Paradise FM and Climax FM. I had a Saturday show, daytime. Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Mr. Kipling. Welcome to the show between 6 and 8 p.m. And I'm sorry, the answers are long. I know, I know. That's because I'm trying to talk this ---- off my mouth. I'm trying to just talk. But long story short, I did Pirate for two years, and it was great. It was great. I wasn't famous for me. I had a great show. I loved it. I used to do talk-ins. I used to play new music. And Pirate Radio was really one of the first places you could have specialist urban music. What's the biggest mistake that you can make as a DJ? Shaquille O'Neal once told me it's not playing enough songs for the ladies. What are you doing, bro? What are you doing? So this is the last dab. We call it the last dab because it's tradition around here to put a little extra. What? On the last wave. Are you talking about? You don't have to if you don't want to. Oh, wow. Sean, you gotta try to do me like that. What did I tell you before I started? I'm the hottest hot one. That's true. I'm gonna, you know what? I'm gonna do a freestyle after this, put it out, and you can play it with the show. It's gonna be called the hottest hot one. We would be honored. Would you really? Yeah. Okay. And you know what? I'm gonna dab. All right. Bottoms up. I told my son today, he was talking about slugs. He's scared of slugs. And he said, you know, he's with this lady, and a slug came in, and he was like, get it out. She was like, no, you get it out. So he had to get it out. I told him, sometimes you gotta just do it, but you gotta do it like you're mad at it. Just like I did there. I told him, when you see the slug next time, you gotta pick it up, throw it up, and it will hide your fear. Slug that wing. Slug that slug out the window. All right, Idris, here we are at the summit of Mount Scoville, and we've touched on a lot of things today, but one thing that we haven't touched on yet is Cats. You're starring in a film adaptation of the classic stage show, and here on Wing 10, we're hoping that we can put some of the most hotly contested fan debates to rest once and for all. Great. Which song bangs harder, the Rum Tum Tugger or Mr. Mistoffelees? Mr. Mistoffelees, I think. The internet seems obsessed with the digital fur technology going on in the trailer. Is it live action, or is it CGI? It is a first of its kind. When I saw the previs for what we were going to look like, I was blown away. And then finally, is Cats a deeply layered allegory about Victorian politics and our own salvation, or is it just about cats? The truth is, the writing is very deep. There's a very beautiful tale at the bottom of it, no pun intended. Cats have nine lives, but humans, we don't know this, but we are part of maybe nine types of personalities. I suspect that there is a little bit of a thing going on around that theory, and cats having nine lives. Fascinating stuff. And Idris Elba, look at you, perhaps the hottest hot one in the history of hot ones. And now there's nothing left to do but roll out the red carpet for you, my friend. This camera, this camera, this camera. Let the people know what you have going on in your life. All right, ladies and gentlemen, I just want to tell you right now, my face is burning, okay? As much as I want to tell you what I'm doing in my life right now, I'm just going to go to the bathroom and wash it with cold water. Apart from that, I want to tell you the t-shirt I'm wearing is a two-hour set t-shirt. Shameless plug. I also have a rap album coming. I don't know what it's called yet. Might call it Hot Ones. Go watch Hobbs and Shaw. It's a lot of fun. Some really great moments in it. I think you're going to enjoy it. Sean and the entire Hot Wings crew, except for Chris, you're a madman. Don't ever talk to me again. You never talk to me in my life, but don't ever talk to me again. You guys are amazing. Thank you very much for having me on the show. I really enjoyed it. Thanks, Sean. Jesus, boy. And by the way, I love your style. Your Christians are great. Thank you. I just really appreciate that. Best interview I've had in a while. Thank you, man. Oh, I'm going to put this down. Thank you, guys. You're a good team, man. Wow. Heatness.com to order. Be careful out there, dabheads. And Godspeed.