Idris Elba has chemistry with everyone except his daughter, apparently
Isan Elba didn't speak to her father for weeks after missing out on a role in Beast
Aux News Idris Elba
As anyone who’s watched a romantic comedy knows, chemistry can either make or break a movie. It’s also important in other kinds of stories, such as, say, a survivalist thriller about a family trying to evade a lion attack.
Idris Elba recently dropped by The Breakfast Club to discuss his latest project Beast, in which he plays a father whose trip to a South African game reserve with his two teenage daughters takes a menacing turn. The kids are played by Iyana Halley and Leah Sava Jeffries, but the cast could have looked a little different.
“Interestingly enough, my daughter auditioned for this role, she wants to be an actress,” Elba recalls. “It came down to chemistry in the end. She’s great, but the relationship in the film and the relationship between me and my daughter, the chemistry wasn’t right for the film, weirdly enough.”
As noted in The A.V. Club’s review, the role demanded a certain resentful tone after the death of the character’s mother, and it’s safe to assume that the father and daughter’s real-life dynamic doesn’t look anything like that. However, it didn’t make the rejection any easier for the 20-year-old Isan Elba.
“My daughter didn’t talk to me for about three weeks,” the Pacific Rim actor says.
Beast producer Will Packer had to break the bad news to the younger Elba.
“I’ll give props to Idris, because a lot of people talk about nepotism,” Packer tells The Breakfast Club. “Two dads who for real want the best for their kids but are hard on them: Idris Elba and Ice Cube. The real deal. Idris was definitely like, ‘Listen, put her through the ropes. Go in, give her a shot, audition.’ He auditioned with her. He was very tough on her, and he said, ‘Listen, at the end of the day, we’re going to make the best decision for the movie. I trust you, Will, I trust the director.’ She was very good, she was very close. Idris is right, some of the nuance of that real-life relationship sometimes doesn’t translate onscreen.”
After those three weeks, the two patched things up, and it looks like Elba’s daughter is ready to pursue other roles that might be a better fit for her.
“She was very gracious about it, we got through that, and I’m really proud of her to go through that and then not get the role but still come to the premiere,” Elba says.
Beast is in theaters this weekend. Elba also stars in Three Thousand Years Of Longing, set to be released on August 26.
70 Comments
Tom Hanks is wondering what he has to do to get Chet to stop talking to him.
Just keep up the weekly deliveries of axe body spray and Monster energy drinks.
Thanks, you totally got me to spit out my soda from laughing!
As much as we all clown Chet, he was pretty fucking funny on Atlanta.
I’ll have to take your word for it
*Thick Trinidadian accent*“I’m from Tribeca”.I nearly pissed myself.
You gotta wonder what Hanks was thinking. Name your kid Chester and he’s doomed to be a fuck up
It’s a better name for a cat than a human.
Seeing how I have a cat named Chester, I’m inclined to agree.
You take that back! Chester Cheetah (the mascot of Cheetos) is awesome! He’s cooler than Joe Camel and hawks a product (slightly) less harmful.
You don’t think Chester Cheetos is a huge fuck up? Answer me this, say someone says “I brought Cheetos!”, what are you getting. Are they puffy or are they crunchy? Why are Cheetos the only snack food that exists in two forms but with the same name!!! It causes market confusion!!
Unless of course you’re Chester Bennington.
Hey now, we had a U.S. President that was named Chester. Can’t be all bad, can it?
Anything that rhymes so perfectly with “molester” is begging for trouble.
John Wayne never complained about his sons lack of range…..
Stop posting bail for him?
tough love
Good on him to keep his kid humble in Hollyweird.
He didn’t want her to become another Emma Roberts, Jaden Smith, Liv Tyler, Jake Busey, Bijou Phillips, Katie Cassidy, Tori Spelling so she’ll actually learn acting skills.
More like good on the producers for not casting her. As if HE didn’t arrange the audition.
To be fair to Jaden Smith. Its was pretty clear that his dad was forcing him into acting and he just was not into it(or just not good at it). He is definitely talented as a musician and seems to have found his calling there. I wouldn’t put him past coming back to acting at some point but if he does I suspect it will be on his own terms.
Pump the brakes a bit on “definitely talented as a musician.” More like, “isn’t as hopeless as a musician as he is as an actor, and so, in that case, the nepotism appears enough to guarantee him something of a career.”
I honestly thought the same thing until I heard his music and enjoyed it.
Yeah, the nepotism got him some decent producers, and the standards for how wack you can be on the mic and still be considered an artist have plummeted, but still… “definitely talented?” Please.
for rich kids, your description passes for “talent”
It’s a whole lot easier for a producer to turn a would-be musician into a decent studio creation. Meanwhile there’s no hiding on camera.
Never understood why Will Smith would pimp out his kids. Isn’t he worth hundreds of millions? Is Jaden a rapper? That’s not a musician…..
Liv Tyler’s dad has turned up in a few things, but he isn’t an actor. Liv went her own way, and whatever you think about how successful she was, she doesn’t belong on thos particular list. (I thought she was great in The Leftovers and Lord of the Rings myself – for the latter, she was a more convincing elf than Hugo Weaving, who just seemed to be grinning and bearing it, and seemed like he’d rather not be there. He was better in the Hobbit, strangely, even though those films are not good – there was a warmth to his chat with Bilbo that he didn’t have in LotR.)
Wait, did I miss something about Liv Tyler? She always comes across as relatively well adjusted in interviews. Is she weird or something and I just never heard about it?EDIT: Oh, wait. You’re just talking about pure acting talent but becoming a star thanks to nepotism. Got it.
She was also excellent in The Leftovers and Harlots. Nepotism may have helped her along, but she has talent.
She’s funny as hell in We’re the Millers as well.
Liv Tyler gives great performances, idc who her folks are.
In fairness, several of those people have given some decent or even iconic performances, because (whispers) acting isn’t super hard.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want her to become another -insert actor here-. He’s clear that he used his pull to force the production to give his daughter auditions and screen tests. The variation from other Hollywood nepotism is that he then made clear to everyone involved, including his daughter, that is was now in the productions hands and his influence was over. He told his daughter you’re now competing with a bunch of other actors and the director, casting director, etc will be the ones that make the choice. The whole, she didn’t talk to me for weeks, and happy she came to the premiere quotes are completely out of context, because if you watch the episode he’s clearly joking. It’s a fantastic BC episode in general. Elba is only the back half of it. Packer talking about producing the Oscars, and “The Slap,” and how that was dealt with is super interesting and way more newsworthy than a joking few minute aside about Elba’s daughter.
Oh thanks for clearing that up. So he didn’t tell the director that he lacked chemistry with his own daughter who was auditioning to play HIS DAUGHTER! I still hold to my threesome theory…..
What does Emma Roberts have on Ryan Murphy to stay employed? She might be the worst consistently-working actor in the business right now.
Maybe she’s taken Nancy Reagans crown for best blow job in Hollywood?
Roberts was good in Scream, one of the best scenes in any of the movies is her throwing herself into rando furniture.
I thought his daughter was an adolescent given she didn’t speak to him for 3 weeks. But 20? That’s a little too old to give someone the silent treatment after not being able to handle the rejection that comes from being a professional actor.
I mean, if she doesn’t live at home, she could have just not called him for three weeks, and he might not have called her to give her space. Or he might have been exaggerating and it was really like 10 days but it felt like three weeks! Or maybe she does live at home and you’re right, I have no idea. I’m just saying, there’s multiple possibilities.
Well it’s also a lot easier to not talk to your dad for a few weeks when you’re 20, and presumably not living together anymore. I know some people who talk to their parents every day despite being adults with their own lives, and others who talk to their parents as little as possible even without any sort of drama between them. But also there’s some difference between “You weren’t right for the part” and “I found someone else who’s even better at being my daughter than you.”
It’s also super easy not to talk to your dad for three weeks when you’re a junior at NYU and he’s an actor who is pretty much anywhere in the world at any given time.
She should stick to her studies. She can’t even nail playing the daughter to her own father!
I know some people who talk to their parents every day despite being adults with their own lives, and others who talk to their parents as little as possible even without any sort of drama between them.I’m in the latter category with my mother, and not only do we live together, but she’s the most important person in my life, by a significant margin.
However, we have the type of relationship (and have had for a long time; I’m 31) where we really don’t communicate unless we have to, and even then, it’s very down-to-business. We don’t shoot the shit. We don’t bother one another. Truly, the only time we have long, consistent interactions with one another is when I bring her around some of my friends for a party of some sort.
That being said, it’s nice to see one of the few examples where blatant nepotism doesn’t win out in the end. It’s already hard enough for performers to break into the industry. It’s made exponentially more difficult when they’re faced with competing against the scions and relatives of stars, producers, and directors who can all directly lobby the decision-makers in ways that most agents can’t.
“They found someone better at being my resentful daughter than you,” and she was like, “Hold my beer.”
He said it jokingly so I am not sure it was a serious three weeks of silent treatment.
There’s a good chance this is hyperbole. Also, I didn’t speak to my parents for months when I was 20. Use some critical thinking before you attack someone you don’t know about something.
Take your own advice, friend. I was going to ask how young are you, until you mentioned you’re above 20. So you should know only your mother can tell you “Think before you speak.” Telling it to a stranger is arrogant and condescending. For future reference.
So you should know only your mother can tell you “Think before you speak.”I haven’t spoken to my mother in nearly 10 years… so, think before you speak… lmfao.
Yours is a curious over reaction. Sensitive much? Me thinks the internet is not for you…..
I’ve gone over a month without talking to my parents and I’m in my 40s. I also hate talking on the phone and I’m kinda a shitty son
Self own! Respect!
Watch the actual BC episode. Elba was joking.
From your own dad who says they just don’t click? Me thinks that’s the dad’s fault…..
I got the impression he was only half-serious. She was probably disappointed but as a 20 year-old she probably also understood how unprofessional (and potentially damaging) it would be for daddy to stomp his feet and make a studio ponying up nearly $40 million cast his daughter.
But also at 20 how often are you talking to your parents? It could just mean she didn’t respond to two texts, and that doesn’t mean she couldn’t handle rejection. She wanted something and she was disappointed—you’re allowed to take a few weeks by yourself to process a feeling. That’s emotionally healthy. Also, of course she doesn’t know how to handle rejection “as a professional actor.” She’s not one yet. Give her a break.
I mean the fact that she got the audition is still pretty nepotism-y … nepotistic? That’s one of the perks of being successful so good for them, but let’s call it what it is.
What I was coming here to say. He helped her get her foot in the door — that’s what nepotism is.
I don’t even get this, and the wildly clickbait headline. I assume you didn’t actually watch the source of your clickbait. What are you even arguing for? Nepotism?
Imagine a life so easy that your first bit of adversity makes news
Nepotism doesn’t win out for once and it’s newsworthy.That’s on brand for the America I know.
It is fucking weird that American boasts about being a republic and then spends so much energy on creating “political dynasties” like the Bushes, Kennedys, Clintons, and Cheneys.
It is fucking weird that American boasts about being a republic and then spends so much energy on creating “political dynasties” like the Bushes, Kennedys, Clintons, and Cheneys.To be fair, being a republic simply means avoiding the development of autocratic rule. It says nothing about the eventual development of a hierarhical classes, whether they be hereditary nobility or quasi-meritocratic nobility.
The most famous republic, Rome, consisted of a number of political dynasties who, at one point or another, held power and influence (even after the end of the Republic and the creation of the Empire). Most of these were hereditary nobles (of either the Senatorial or Equestrian class), but later came the concept of a “plebeian noble”, someone who through their own exploits (usually in war) was ennobled, even though their lineage was that of a common man.
If anything, the concept of a republic lends itself directly to the natural creation of such political, dynastic classes, for the simple fact that there aren’t (or are very few) legal structures that either eliminate that ability, or limit it. In autocratic societies, the ruler becomes the sole determinant. In communist societies, the party becomes the determinant. In republican societies, it iss, in one way or another, the public who becomes the determinant.
Also, the Clinton’s and the Cheney’s barely fit into the term “political dynasty”. Chelsea, so far, hasn’t entered into politics, Hillary essentially married into it, and neither of their parents or grandparents were political players in any respect (Bill did have an uncle who was an Arkansas state Rep). The Cheney’s barely fit because of Dick and his daughter Liz, but again, Dick Cheney’s parents and/or grandparents were not political power players.
Actual political dynasties at the national level are few and far between. The Clintons are done after one generation, though Chelsie will be making millions off the foundation and global initiative for the rest of her life. Fair to say Liz Cheney won’t be getting elected to office again (in Wyoming anyway). It’s more common at the state level where people can exert direct influence (Cuomos the most obvious).
Fireworks go off now!
Sounds like she started the method acting despite not getting the role.
Wow Idris, didn’t know you were making a Shakespeare version of an action thriller…..
Idris just wanted a shot at a threesome (“now this very serious work of art will require intense, up close personal rehearsal. Just the three of us.”). He is divorced because of his huge thirst!
Of course, ironically they do now have the kind of chemistry that would have won her the role.
Beast 2: Cruise Control!