Idris Elba graces the Feb/March issue of Uptown Magazine, looking as handsome and chill as ever.  In the issue, he talks about acting, the difference between fame in the US and in the UK, and his plans for the future – which includes the release of an R&B album.  Excerpts and pics after you click.

Fast Facts:

Age: 37
Born: In London (East End) to Ghanian mother & Sierra Leonean father.
Where you’ve seen him: American Gangster, Daddy’s Little Girls, Obsessed & HBO’a The Wire

Interview Excerpts:

You fostered a love for performance, even earning a grant to attend hte National Youth Music Theatre. How did that passion grow out of such a rough environment?

At the end of the day, everyone’s got talent. Do you nurther that talent or do you put it in a backsaeat and aim to just have a decent life? I was a risk taker. I was like fuck it. I am musical. I can act, dance. I’m atheletic. So shit, let’s go for that. It’s a lot more fun, less stressful, and a lot less monotonous than the other option: Hold down a good juob, take a wage home, get a car, get a flat, get a kid, get a dog, play football on Sunday.

Your contemporary soul EP High Class Problems, Volume 1 comes out in the United States later this year under your music moniker, Driis.  What do you want the songs to convey?

There’s a lot of celebration of songs. Secular music now is all about, “Let me fuck you, take you to the crib, do this and do that.” I deejay so I have to play [that music] sometimes, but when I write my songs, they’re more about a connection.

What role does music play in your life?

It’s a form of expression for me, honestly, I take it very seriously. They music is the first seed in Idris making his own move. It’s self-funded; no one else tells him what to do. It’s all from my brain. If people love it or hate it, it doesn’t matter because it came from the source.

For the entire interview and more pictures, check it out at UptownLife.net here.