Idris Elba Reveals His Eyebrow-Raising Connection To Dave Chappelle

The road to fame was certainly not easy for Idris Elba. Today we know him as the A-list British actor who has lent his talents to blockbuster films like "Pacific Rim," the "Avengers" franchise, and "The Suicide Squad." He was even trusted to play Nelson Mandela in the film "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom," per IMDb. (Yes, he was also in the 2019 flop "Cats," but we choose to look the other way on that one.)

But long before he became People's "Sexiest Man Alive," the Londoner had to do whatever he could to make money to fund his career. According to Britannica, Elba was born to immigrant parents from Sierra Leone and Ghana, so he had to work hard to make his dreams of becoming an international star come true. When he wasn't honing his craft, Elba revealed that he did whatever it took for him to survive. This included taking odd jobs like being a doorman for comedy clubs and spinning the turntables as a DJ, per Esquire.

And now Elba is spilling what else he had to do to make ends meet and how comedian Dave Chappelle was involved.

Idris Elba has always been open about what his life was like before the big money from being a movie star started flowing into his bank account. Now, Elba disclosed on "The Jess Cagle Show" that he sold marijuana on the side when he first moved to America. "It wasn't [legal] back then. I did that for a little bit just to pay the way," he admitted in the interview.

And when he was working as a doorman at one comedy club in New York City, Elba crossed paths with many famous comedians. "When I meet the comedians you kind of remember the cool English guy with the funny accent and the little hair," Elba explained. "Dave Chappelle remembers me 'cause he used to buy weed from me." Of course, this checks out because of Chappelle's well-known love of the green wonder. (And who could forget about the 1998 classic, "Half Baked?")

In an interview with Esquire, Elba reflected on his initial come-up in Hollywood. "I was hustling back then. And I mean huss-ell-ing ... just to make money because the acting weren't coming in fast enough." But, regardless of such, Elba maintained that he's not proud of his drug-dealing past, but thankfully he was able to leave it behind when he got his big break in the smash-hit TV show, "The Wire." And the rest is history!