Idris Elba expresses frustrations over race questions: 'We haven't turned a corner until we don't have to talk about it'

'I'm quite vocal about that – when journalists ask me about race, I call them out'

(Getty Images)

Idris Elba has expressed his frustration over being asked about race in interviews, stating that society hasn't "turned a corner" until it is no longer widely discussed.

In a new interview with The Times published on Thursday, Elba explained that he dislikes the fact that journalists will ask him about race when it isn't relevant to their conversation.

"I don't think we've turned a corner until we don't have to talk about it," the Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw star said.

"I'm quite vocal about that – when journalists ask me about race, I call them out."

Following Elba's wedding to partner Sabrina Dhowre in April, the pair became the first couple of African descent to appear on the cover of British Vogue.

Both Elba and Dhowre celebrated the milestone on social media. "We did it, babe! First African couple on British Vogue," Dhowre wrote in an Instagram caption, while Elba used the hashtag: "#firstafricancoupleonbritishvogue" in an Instagram post.

During his interview with The Times, Elba stated that he finds it frustrating that race "never comes up" when he reads articles about actors such as Hugh Grant and Brad Pitt.

"I'm a black man – that's evident when you see me – but I'm a universal thinker. I'm like a rainbow," the 46-year-old stated.

"Your piece could live even if you never mentioned that I'm black."

When asked about celebrating certain significant events – such as Stormzy being the first black British solo artist to headline Glastonbury music festival – Elba explained that he understands the importance of recognising these watershed moments.

"I can see where you're coming from," the actor said.

"You're right: there are marks, we can look at this time compared to that time. But also what we inherently do by doing that is remind ourselves [of problems] and sometimes that doesn't take us forward."

In a recent interview published in Vanity Fair, Elba said he felt disappointed by the racist backlash he experienced following rumours that he may one day succeed Daniel Craig as James Bond.

“You just get disheartened, when you get people from a generational point of view going, ‘It can’t be.’ And it really turns out to be the colour of my skin," he said.

"And then if I get it and it didn’t work, or it did work, would it be because of the colour of my skin? That’s a difficult position to put myself into when I don’t need to."

On Tuesday 4 June, previously unseen photographs from Elba and Dhowre's Moroccan wedding ceremony were released by British Vogue.

The celebrity couple first met in 2017, when Elba was filming the thriller The Mountain Between Us in Vancouver.

According to the actor, it was "love at first sight".