Idris Elba says he “nearly lost his life” after being held at gunpoint in the US

Idris Elba has revealed that he was once held at gunpoint in the US while trying to intervene in a dispute between a couple.

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The British actor said that the situation became life-threatening after a gun was pulled on him when he reportedly intervened in an argument.

“I nearly lost my fucking life after attempting to stop a man threatening his girlfriend outside a club,” the Luther actor told the Daily Mail in a recent interview.

“A guy [was] wailing on his missus, screaming in her face, ‘I’ll fucking 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?’”

The actor recalled that the person then “pulled out a gun, stuck it right in my face, and goes, ‘You talking about my girl?’”

He added: “He thought I was trying to hit on her. I remember thinking, ‘Don’t play negotiations like that… Consequences, man.’”

Back in 2018, Elba spoke out against Luther being “rightly” criticised for mostly featuring acts of violence against female characters.

“We definitely got criticised as one of the biggest offenders of that earlier on in our seasons, and quite rightly so,” Idris said (via Digital Spy).

Elsewhere, in June Elba said that he’s been put off from playing James Bond after responses to his potential casting “became about race”.

He’d previously addressed long-standing rumours that he was in talks to play James Bond, saying that “it’s a compliment and it’s an honour, but it’s not a truth”.

Meanwhile, an old Elba action thriller was number one on Netflix UK last weekend.