Idris Elba Spent A Night In Prison Cell To Prep For A Role: ‘It Was A Scary Experience’

Idris elba as Nelson Mandela receiving a prison sentence

(Image credit: 20th Century Studios)

A lot of actors will go the extra mile when it comes to trying to portray a character on screen. Many will put their bodies through incredible workouts to bulk up to play a superhero. Others might gain or lose weight so as to better reflect what a character should look like. When playing real people, if possible some actors will meet the person they are playing if that’s possible. Or, if you’re Idris Elba, you spend a night in prison.

Back in 2013, Idris Elba played Nelson Mandela in Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom, based on the memoir the South African leader wrote after spending nearly three decades in prison. As part of his preparation to play the great leader, Elba decided to not simply spend time in prison, but he tells The Times he actually convinced authorities to let him spend the night in the same prison where Mandela was incarcerated. Elba explained…

In 2013, when I was preparing to play Nelson Mandela in the film Long Walk to Freedom, I spent the night in a prison cell on Robben Island, 12km outside Cape Town, where Mandela was imprisoned from 1964 to 1982. I’d been given the incredible honour to portray this great man and up until that night, I hadn’t quite grasped the significance of having over 20 years of life stolen from him. I had to persuade the authorities to let me stay there, and they finally agreed.

It’s certainly one way to feel close to your subject. To spend any time in the same prison, to see the same thing and experience the same place, even if only for one night, certainly gives one a small understanding of what the experience was really like.

Most of us likely would not spend any time in prison if we had the choice. On the one hand, not being actually incarcerated might have changed the experience for the actor, but it seems that wasn’t quite the case. Elba clearly didn't enjoy his overnight stay. The prison is no longer in use, which meant he was the only person there during that time, but that may have actually made things worse. The actor continued…

It’s a place that holds a lot of bad memories and it’s definitely haunted. I heard strange noises throughout the night but I was the only person there. I had a bucket, a thin mattress and a blanket; they kept the lights on because that’s what they used to do and I didn’t sleep much. It was a scary experience, but it definitely gave me a stronger connection to Mandela.

It seems like the time spent may have been worth it. While Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom wasn’t a blockbuster hit or a major awards darling, his performance as Mandela is seen as one of Elba's best roles, earning him a Golden Globe nomination for the role at the time.

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CinemaBlend’s resident theme park junkie and amateur Disney historian, Dirk began writing for CinemaBlend as a freelancer in 2015 before joining the site full-time in 2018. He has previously held positions as a Staff Writer and Games Editor, but has more recently transformed his true passion into his job as the head of the site's Theme Park section. He has previously done freelance work for various gaming and technology sites. Prior to starting his second career as a writer he worked for 12 years in sales for various companies within the consumer electronics industry. He has a degree in political science from the University of California, Davis. Is an armchair Imagineer, Epcot Stan, Future Club 33 Member.