When I was nine, I had this girlfriend and we used to have running races in the park. I wanted to be like Superman and fly in and rescue her.

I have played a boxer, a cowboy, a knight, a prince, an elf and a pirate. I am so glad to have done all of that already.

Obviously I always wanted to do a contemporary piece.

Yeah, I mean the material, directors, the other cast, and if you think you can do something with the character then you do it and go from there. I am looking forward to doing some smaller movies.

You don't improvise with a Cameron Crowe script.

I got to dress up in funny clothes and run around New Zealand with a bow and arrow for 18 months, how bad could that be?

Be comfortable. I think if you're comfortable, you exude confidence, and that leads to good style.

I wondered how they would top the Pirates and skeletons and moonlight, because that's a pretty cool concept.

I came back out here from England and I was there for a while and it was beautiful and it is just great to see London going from Spring to Summer and Autumn.

I think that its easy to think of the environment as all doom and gloom and that, 'What can we do, it's too late. And the polar bears are gone, and everything is gone.' But really, just the little steps that we can make as individuals make a big difference.

I have a punishing workout regimen. Every day I do 3 minutes on a treadmill, then I lie down, drink a glass of vodka and smoke a cigarette.

Every time I try to retire, or even think of retiring from acting, my agent comes up with a script.

I once asked a Jesuit preist what was the best short prayer he knew. He said "Fuck it." as in "Fuck it, it's in Gods hands.

I remember coming to New York in 1974 to do a play here called 'Equis.' And I remember the first morning getting up and walking around the streets, and I thought, 'I'm home.' I felt really at peace here.

We're always looking over our shoulders, 'what they will think, what the press will think, what will this one - am I making the right career move?' When you're young you have to do all that to survive, I suppose.

I think the first British actor who really worked well in cinema was Albert Finney. He was a back-street Marlon Brando. He brought a great wittiness and power to the screen. The best actor we've had.

I never make conscious decisions.

I try to fit in workouts whenever I can.

The less I talk about being black, the better.

In some countries, no one knows who Idris Elba is.

I've been DJing mostly, and most DJs end up producing. That's just me.

The directors [who know every detail] make films that are complete, basically.

I dont have a place that I call home at the moment because theres no point. I mean, Im a traveling circus for a while. Its weird. Like, if I wanted to go home, theres nowhere to go. I just go to a hotel. But Ive kind of gotten used to it.

I think 'The Wire' really is relatable. It reflects an ongoing issue across America, about inaccuracies in major cities between rich and the poor and some of the things that go on behind the red tape of council and government bodies.