Idris Elba felt like he “wasn’t even living anymore” after his father’s death and became a “robot” with his work.
The ‘Beasts of No Nation’ star was devastated when he lost his dad Winston and says he became a “robot” with his work.
He told the August issue of Esquire magazine: “I got to a place where I wasn’t even living anymore. I was becoming a robot with my work.
“I have no fear of jumping out of burning cars or out of buildings on set, but in reality, I couldn’t run one hundred metres. I just felt out of touch with reality.”
Idris has a close bond with his parents and previously revealed his mother Eve was less than impressed with his decision to try his hand at kickboxing for a new TV documentary.
He shared: “She was really worried. She came to my first amateur fight and it was pretty harrowing for her. I had quite a lot of friends and family there and they couldn’t believe what I was doing. I drew that fight, but I got knocked down in the third round by a pretty brutal uppercut. But my mum was the only one of my family who was like, ‘This is silly’.
“In between rounds, when it was quiet, I heard my mum saying, ‘Drink some water, don’t let him kick you in the head, what are you doing this for? Do you need your asthma inhaler?’ I was like, ‘Mum, please be quiet.'”
Meanwhile, Idris previously confessed he is worried about burning out.
He said: “It’s unhealthy to have that much going on. I don’t want to sound ungrateful or anything, but I sleep less, I’m constantly thinking, I’m constantly multitasking, and I really don’t know what the effects are going to be when I’m older …
“I do worry sometimes about whether I’m going to burn out. Not burn myself out, but burn my art out, with audiences going, ‘Ah, yeah, I’ve seen enough now, thanks very much.'”