Popular Sierra Leone/Ghanaian-born British actor, Idris Elba, has broken his silence on the ongoing controversy trailing the announcement that he was to play the protagonist ‘Okonkwo’ role in an upcoming series adaptation of Chinua Achebe’s ‘Things Fall Apart’.
Elba, who spoke at the African Cinema Summit in Ghana, said the decision was a matter of authenticity and storytelling.
Featuring on the panel ‘The Relevance of Cinema In African Communities’, the actor expressed his understanding of Nigerians, especially the Igbos doubting his ability to do justice to the role, stating that he experienced same opposition when he played Nelson Mandela in the film ‘The Long Walk To Freedom’.
“When I played Nelson Mandela, I was very, very nervous. I am not from Xhosa tribe. I am from Sierra Leone and Ghana. But South Africans, especially the Xhosa tribe were very, very vocal about why is this guy playing Mandela.
“Nigerians, the Igbo tribe may look at me and say, ‘But this guy now, he is black and he is from Sierra Leone. He is not Igbo. How is he going to play this?’
“Here is the thing though, this is about filmmaking. This is storytelling. We should all be allowed to tell our stories. We should. I think this is important, especially in the continent. There has been so much division put onto our continent, that we didn’t put ourselves.
“We know there are different tribes, complexions, hair textures, etc. but we all consider ourselves Africans. And when I see an African team playing in the World Cup, it doesn’t matter where they are from, I support them.
“This is where the question of authenticity comes. If I am going to play that coveted role in ‘Things Fall Apart’, if I am not authentic, I shouldn’t be there. If I can’t play that character authentically, I shouldn’t do it. But if I can, then, I want my Africans to support me.”
Elba, who spoke at the African Cinema Summit in Ghana, said the decision was a matter of authenticity and storytelling.
Featuring on the panel ‘The Relevance of Cinema In African Communities’, the actor expressed his understanding of Nigerians, especially the Igbos doubting his ability to do justice to the role, stating that he experienced same opposition when he played Nelson Mandela in the film ‘The Long Walk To Freedom’.
“When I played Nelson Mandela, I was very, very nervous. I am not from Xhosa tribe. I am from Sierra Leone and Ghana. But South Africans, especially the Xhosa tribe were very, very vocal about why is this guy playing Mandela.
“Nigerians, the Igbo tribe may look at me and say, ‘But this guy now, he is black and he is from Sierra Leone. He is not Igbo. How is he going to play this?’
“Here is the thing though, this is about filmmaking. This is storytelling. We should all be allowed to tell our stories. We should. I think this is important, especially in the continent. There has been so much division put onto our continent, that we didn’t put ourselves.
“We know there are different tribes, complexions, hair textures, etc. but we all consider ourselves Africans. And when I see an African team playing in the World Cup, it doesn’t matter where they are from, I support them.
“This is where the question of authenticity comes. If I am going to play that coveted role in ‘Things Fall Apart’, if I am not authentic, I shouldn’t be there. If I can’t play that character authentically, I shouldn’t do it. But if I can, then, I want my Africans to support me.”
