“I’m supercritical of my own work,” he admits in new interview of the Stringer Bell role

Oct 18, 2013 20:46 GMT  ·  By
Idris Elba says he never watched “The Wire” even though the Stringer Bell role made him big in America
   Idris Elba says he never watched “The Wire” even though the Stringer Bell role made him big in America

HBO’s “The Wire” holds a very special place with fans as one of the smartest, grittiest, and best written shows on television. However, Idris Elba, who played Stringer Bell for 3 full seasons, never watched it.

Some argue that the Stringer role put Idris on the map across the pond and that, without it, he might have never been able to break on the US market.

The actor admits in a new interview with Playboy, meant to promote his upcoming Nelson Mandela biopic, that he “never watched” the series. Before you judge him for it though, it wasn’t because he didn’t like it.

“I’ve seen a full episode at screenings but never at home. I’ve never watched an entire season. I’ve not seen any episode of season two, most of season three and none of seasons four and five,” he says.

“I’m supercritical of my own work. As an actor, if you’re being told how wonderful you are, what do you need to strive for? I don’t know if I’m good just because some critic says I am in the press,” Elba explains.

He won a Golden Globe and earned two Emmy nominations for the role. Stringer Bell, a drug dealer with a mind for marketing and economics, who tried to be a more careful and savvier hustler than his partner and, because of it, less of a typical gangster, is considered to this day one of the best written villains in TV.