female gazing at: Idris Elba

Even speaking as a straight guy, may I say: Good choice. Been a fan of Elba's ever since he did Ultraviolet.

hmmm.. Stringer Bell, the coolest gangster ever..

The Wire was the best show ever.

Mary Ann, you have excellent taste.

If I see Takers, it will only be because of this man. (I may wait for dvd.)

In a weird way I feel like I'm cyberstalking Mr. Elba today without even trying. First it was all the tweets about the Alex Cross role (which I am all for,) then I watched The Big C (had no idea he was in that,) then Obsessed came on and I sat through it, ONLY for Idris (although not even he could save it) and to top it off I saw your tweet for your latest foray into Male Gazing. TMI?

If you're an Elba fan than you might want to check out Luther, which ran on BBC this May-June for 6 episodes. It was great, and Elba was fantastic as the main character, a sort of angry mash-up of Columbo and Sherlock Holmes (although that barely beings to explain the show or the character).

I knew there was something I was forgetting! I also found out today that Luther is going to be part of BBCAmerica's fall line-up LOL. I'm really looking forward to it as I've heard GREAT things about the series and his performance.

Not everyone liked Luther but I thought it was excellent. Plus, bonus points for also having Paul McGann and Steven Mackintosh and a couple of really strong female characters in Saskia Reeves and Indira "Torchwood" Varma.

I thought Luther was quite silly but kept watching for the excellent actors in it. The last 2 episodes kick it up a gear.

He is so *(&*$#% hot it's ridiculous.

Luther was...odd. I liked it, though I never did figure out wtf it was supposed to be about. Has anyone seen him in the American version of The Office?

I'd love to see him in the Office - was he any good? Michael Scott and Stringer Bell in a scene together seems very incongruent.

Luther was odd because he was an American - type cop in a more reality-based drama (at least, it looks that way on first glance but as I said, very silly things occur in it). There was stuff that happened that you could get away with in Law and Order but it just seems unrealistic in a British police series.

I take Idris a little bit less seriously than I should, perhaps, because he is trying to get a rapping career off the ground. A good question of the day would be why do I have less respect for actors when they try to be singers?

He was terrific in "The Office." He really should do more comedy.

quote: "A good question of the day would be why do I have less respect for actors when they try to be singers?"

I call it "The Jamie Foxx Effect."

I think the universe is telling me I need to go watch Rocknrolla AGAIN. Talk about your 'male gazing'! That movie is a treasure trove, a quadruple whammy if you will: Gerard Butler, Mark Strong, Tom Hardy and of course, Idris.

(btw Mary Ann, still waiting for the 1st three to show up here LOL)

I call it "The Jamie Foxx Effect."

You sure it shouldn't be the "Bruce Willis" effect?

No, wait, The Shatner Effect! Nemoy?

The weird thing is that this actor/singer split seems to be a recent thing, now that the golden age of the musical production is behind us. There's still a few actors who have strong sining voices; Scott Bakula comes to mind.

LOL as soon as I hit reply I thought of Eddie Murphy.

But you're right, it's been going on for a long time.

Speaking of Ultraviolet (the BBC tv show) have you seen that, MaryAnn? Cos you really should. You'd love it. It's still my vote for best ever show about vampires (where they never ever mention the V word.)

The Wire is my favorite TV show of all time. And even though I don't go that way, I can't help but enjoy looking at Elba.

@Lisa -

Law & Order:UK was really good, a nice change from the standard UK style cop drama (and I say that with all love to The Bill)(stop laughing).

L&O UK turned me off for the same reasons! I liked Luthor better.

I remember Ultraviolet but am pretty sure it was a Channel 4 show. I liked it but am surprised that Idris was in it. I loved him in The Wire - I was shocked when the net finally closed in on him. It's hard for me to accept him as English, as much as it is hard for me to accept James Marsters as American, it's just wrong.