Idris Elba Is Getting Medical Treatment Because He Acts Too Much
In today’s edition of “Stars, they’re just like us!” The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Luther star Idris Elba has been seeking out therapy to cope with his hefty schedule. While appearing on the latest episode of the Changes With Annie Macmanus podcast, Elba shared that he began seeing a therapist last year after stress began to weigh him down. Referring to himself as an “absolute workaholic,” the Hijack actor said he needed to spend some time working on his mental health.
“Nothing that’s too extreme is good,” Idris Elba said during his interview, speaking about his sprawling career that has seen him appear in a slew of both film and television productions. The actor revealed that one of his biggest issues stems from not being able to see his family for months at a time, noting that this is a problem that he plans to “adjust” through his mental health pursuits.
“In my therapy, I’ve been thinking a lot about changing, almost to the point of neuropaths being changed and shifting. And It’s not because I don’t like myself or anything like that, it’s just that I have some unhealthy habits that I’ve just really formed and they, you know, I work in an industry that I’m rewarded for those unhealthy habits.”
Idris Elba
The actor also reveals that the idea of working yourself to the bone is run-of-the-mill when it comes to the entertainment industry, as no one wants to pass up an opportunity to play a once-in-a-lifetime role.
“I work in an industry that I’m rewarded for those unhealthy habits,” Idris Elba explained on the podcast, explaining that when it comes to Hollywood, the more projects a performer has on their docket, the better.
So, how does the Three Thousand Years of Longing star plan to shake up his neural pathways that are so set on staying booked and busy? He’s hoping that dipping into hobbies and other creative outlets will help him in the long run.
With a love for music, Idris Elba enjoys his alone time mixing beats and tunes as a DJ but says that even this can turn into work for him. Revealing that it’s challenging for him to simply sit down on the couch and catch up on his favorite episode of TV, The Suicide Squad actor says that he’d rather be working on a project.
This, in turn, lands him in hot water as whether that venture be penning music or starting a new acting gig, it isn’t resetting his brain and taking a breather for his mental health.
“I could have worked 10 days on a film, underwater sequences, holding my breath for six minutes, and come back and sit here [in the studio] and [be relaxed], more so than sitting on the sofa watching TV with the family, which is bad, right? And this is the part where I’ve got to sort of normalize, what makes me relaxed. Can’t be all work.”
Idris Elba
2023 alone has been a busy year for Idris Elba as the actor appeared in a cameo capacity in Netflix’s Extraction 2 as well as Luther: The Fallen Sun. He also starred in Apple TV+’s action-packed miniseries, Hijack, and supplied his voice to the Paramount+ miniseries, Knuckles, which is set to premiere later this year.
Speaking of Knuckles, Idris Elba will return to the role of the echidna in 2024 through Sonic the Hedgehog 3 after making his debut in the video game-turned-film universe in 2022’s Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
Beyond that, audiences can expect to catch Idris Elba in Ilya Naishuller’s star-studded action comedy flick, Heads of State, as well as Genndy Tartakovsky’s adult animated comedy, Fixed. Although we’re thrilled more Elba is on the way, we’re also begging him to take some time for his own mental well-being.
