Idris Elba to get special BAFTA TV award

Idris Elba is about to receive a major honour from the BAFTA Awards to celebrate his creative contributions to television with the underwhelmingly-named The Special Award. Semantics aside, Elba’s latest achievement represents the highest honour an artist can receive from the BAFTAs, a fitting title for the multi-talented Luther and The Wire star."It's a great privilege to be honored with the BAFTA Special Award," said Elba in a statement. "It’s been a mission of mine to provide opportunity and access to emerging talent from diverse backgrounds in this industry, which is the same opportunity I received many years ago from open minded and diversity conscious casting. I thank BAFTA for recognizing myself and others who are dedicated to the same cause, as these are all necessary steps towards helping to shift the awareness and understanding of the diversity gap in entertainment."

 

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Thank you @bafta ??#Repost ・・・ We are excited to announce that @idriselba is to receive the BAFTA Special Award for creative contribution to television at the #VirginMediaBAFTAs on 31 July! See link in bio for more! • • • ? @gettyimages #IdrisElba #BAFTA #SpecialAward #baftatv

A post shared by Idris Elba (@idriselba) on Jul 21, 2020 at 10:02am PDT

BAFTA chief executive Amanda Berry also released a statement about the award, highlighting Elba’s impressive contributions to film and television both on screen and behind the camera. "Idris is one of Britain’s best known actors in the U.K. and internationally with a long and successful career on-screen, and an accomplished director, producer and writer,” said Berry. “He is also a driving force for championing diversity, ensuring talented people from all backgrounds achieve their potential. We’re delighted to recognize Idris, and his outstanding work, at this year’s ceremony."Elba began making a name for himself in his native U.K. in the mid-1990s thanks to appearances on shows like Bramwell and Absolutely Fabulous. Moving across the pond in the early 2000s, Elba’s big break came when he landed the role of Russell "Stringer" Bell in the gritty HBO drama The Wire. Elba began splitting his time between projects in the U.S. and the U.K., appearing in the BBC series The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective and showing off his comedy skills by filming a six-episode appearance as the new Dunder Mifflin manager Charles Miner on the American version of The Office. In 2010, Elba starred as the titular character in the BBC thriller Luther, eventually winning a Golden Globe, SAG Award and Critics' Choice Award for his work as Detective Chief Inspector John Luther. Elba recently hinted that the show’s creators are edging closer to finally making the highly anticipated Luther film fans have been waiting years to see.The 47-year-old actor has also enjoyed a successful career on the big screen, starring in Guy Ritchie’s RocknRolla and playing the honourable role of Beyoncé’s husband in 2009’s Obsessed. Boasting one of the most comprehensive filmography’s , Elba’s career has included superhero films like Thor and Avengers: Age of Ultron; action films like Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance; musicals, including Cats; children’s films, including The Jungle Book and Finding Dory; and dramas. For his work both as Nelson Mandela in the 2013 film Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom and 2015’s Beasts of No Nation, Elba received Golden Globe nominations.[video_embed id='1999240']RELATED: Yara Shahidi signs major deal & launches production company [/video_embed]The BAFTA-nominated actor has also enjoyed a successful music career as a rapper, DJ, producer and music video director, working with Skepta, Madonna, Mumford and Sons and Beyoncé’s IRL husband Jay-Z.In 2013, Elba launched the production company Green Door Pictures with the core values of "diversity, opportunity and inclusion," to make "thought-provoking and entertaining" projects and provide job training for passionate creatives trying to break into film and television. In his pursuit to push the film and TV industry to commit to more diversity in front of and behind the camera, Elba addressed the U.K. parliament in 2016 and said that more needed to be done to create an industry that better represents stories from different races, genders and sexualities.This year’s BAFTAs were scheduled to take place in May but have been delayed until July 31. The ceremony will be hosted by Richard Ayoade in a closed studio. A member of the British Order, Elba has previously been nominated for one BAFTA for Beasts of No Nation.[video_embed id='1973107']BEFORE YOU GO: Michael B. Jordan wants Hollywood to 'commit to Black hiring' [/video_embed]