Idris Elba: 'I never watched much Wire'

Idris Elba has admitted that he never watched much of hit HBO show The Wire, despite being a key member of its cast.

The Hackney-born actor played Stringer Bell in the acclaimed crime drama, which aired from 2002 to 2008.

When asked why he was so well-liked on the show, Elba told The Daily Telegraph: "I didn't watch it much. To fans of The Wire, that's sacrilegious, I know.

"Stringer was a shrewd guy, he had a twinkle in his eye. It wasn't written in the script, but I knew guys like that from London. You know, 'All right? How's your mum?'. Charming, but at the same time dirty."

He continued: "I suspect that the reason Stringer is easy to relate to is that he's the type of smooth criminal we know and love. The English are good at bad guys - the James Bond-style villain, cunning, slow-burning.

"The Americans are much more obvious about it. With my English upbringing, and the writing, it just meshed into a chilling sort of African-American gangster."

Show creator David Simon added: "All the writers loved writing for Idris and that character. Stringer was nuanced and multi-layered, sometimes wonderfully contradictory.

"He was a credible yet surprising drug trafficker. And altogether human. It was a brilliant turn for a masterful actor."