Fast & Furious star Idris Elba plans to move to Africa within the next decade and settle there, the London-born actor told the BBC on Tuesday.
Elba said he plans to support the continent’s nascent movie industry with the new abode and back projects to build a film studio on the Tanzanian islands of Zanzibar as well as one in the Ghanaian capital, Accra.
Elba, whose mother is from Ghana and father from Sierra Leone, has a strong attachment to the African continent.
The 52-year-old, who has starred in Marvel’s Thor films, Star Trek Beyond, Pacific Rim, and other blockbusters, wants to leverage his star power to back its burgeoning film business as he says it is vital Africans get to tell their own stories outside of the strictures of Hollywood.
“I would certainly consider settling down here; not even consider, it’s going to happen,” he said in an interview on the sidelines of an industry meeting in Accra.
“I think [I’ll move] in the next five, 10 years, God willing. I’m here to bolster the film industry – that is a 10-year process – I won’t be able to do that from overseas. I need to be in-country, on the continent.”
He believes the spirit of Pan-Africanism means he will not commit to living in a specific place.
“I’m going to live in Accra, I’m going to live in Freetown [Sierra Leone’s capital], I’m going to live in Zanzibar. I’m going to try and go where they’re telling stories – that’s really important.”
One goal he does have is to make a film in his studio in Accra one day.
