Idris Elba revealed Sunday that he has turned to therapy after realizing that he had developed an “unhealthy habit” that began to seriously impact his lifestyle.
According to the British actor, he sought out therapy last year when he realized that being an “absolute workaholic” was taking a massive toll on his well-being.
“It’s a lot,” said Elba, 51, while appearing on the “Changes with Annie Macmanus” podcast. “In my therapy, I’ve been thinking a lot about changing, almost to the point of neuropaths [sic] being changed and shifting.”
“It’s not because I don’t like myself or anything like that, it’s just because I have some unhealthy habits that have really formed,” continued the “Beast” star. “And I work in an industry that I’m rewarded for those unhealthy habits.”
The Post reached out to Elba for comment.
In the process of seeking help, the “Luther” actor realized that “nothing extreme is good” and that “everything needs balance.”
“I’m rewarded massively to be a workaholic [compared] to someone that’s like ‘Eh, I’m not going to see my family for six months’ and I’m in there grinding and making a new family and leave them,” he shared. “Those are pathways that I had to be like, ‘I’ve got to adjust.’”
While on the podcast, Elba commented that he realized that a lot “of our childhood is really at the root of” who we become in life.
Elba also mentioned that he “definitely wants to” find activities to help him unwind, but admitted that he finds working incredibly relaxing.
“The thing is, the things that make me relaxed end up being work,” the “Cats” actor added. “My studio in my house, I just love being in here. I’ll open that laptop and be like ‘I don’t know what to make today’ and it’ll come out like this or that. And I’m exhilarated by that and also so relaxed by it.”
“I could work 10 days on a film, underwater sequences holding my breath for six minutes, and come back and sit in [his studio] and [feel relaxed], more so than sitting on the sofa with the family — which is bad right?” the Golden Globe winner continued. “This is the part where I’ve got to normalize what makes me relaxed, it can’t be all work.”
Elba made headlines recently when he revealed that he nearly died after being held at gunpoint trying to protect a woman.
“I nearly lost my f–king life, after attempting to stop a man threatening his girlfriend outside a club,” Elba told the Daily Mail in July.
“A guy [was] whaling on his missus, screaming in her face, ‘I’ll f–king kill you,’ and so on. I come round and I go, ‘Look how beautiful she is. Why would you talk to this beautiful princess like that?’”
According to the OBE (Order of the British Empire) recipient, the man whirled on him and “stuck [the gun] right in my face, and goes, ‘You talking about my girl?'”
Elba then realized the man thought the actor was trying to hit on the woman.
“I remember thinking, ‘Don’t play negotiations like that… Consequences, man.'”
One month earlier, the actor was shocked to find out that he was being considered to take over the role of James Bond from Daniel Craig.
“I was like, ‘This is crazy!’ Because James Bond… We’re all actors and we understand that role. It’s one of those coveted [roles],” Elba explained on the “SmartLess” podcast. “Being asked to be James Bond was like, ‘Okay, you’ve sort of reached the pinnacle.’ That’s one of those things the whole world has a vote in.”
Elba explained that while at first “it was a huge compliment,” the idea of playing the iconic spy later soured. “Those that weren’t happy about the idea made the whole thing disgusting and off-putting because it became about race,” he said. “It became about nonsense, and I got the brunt of it.”
