Idris Elba Shares His Past Selling Weed To Dave Chappelle
Who knew selling weed was Idris Elba’s side hustle before he made it big? The actor explained that he studied in London before moving to America to pursue acting but he “fell on his face” when he got to the States and had to perform “odd jobs.”
“I went to a performing arts college and did two years of everything –– scene painting, a little ballet, a little contemporary dance,” Elba said per PEOPLE. “I came out and basically went straight into work.”
He added: “It just all fell flat on its face very quickly for about four years,” he explained. “In that time period, I did a lot of things that I’m not proud of. I used to sell weed,” he said. “It wasn’t [legal] back then. I did that for a little bit just to pay the way.”
Selling weed was one of the “odd jobs” the actor did at the time when he first got to America. He also worked as a DJ and doorman of a comedy club.
“Dave Chappelle remembers me ’cause he used to buy weed from me,” Elba shared. “But yeah, I did all kinds of things, to be honest.”
Chappelle confirmed this story prior in a podcast, per Vibe.
“Idris Elba, the famous actor, used to be a security guard at Caroline’s [comedy club]… I used to buy weed from him,” recalled Chappelle.
