Nelson Mandela on Idris Elba: 'Is that me?'

Nelson Mandela on Idris Elba: 'Is that me?'  | The Guardian: "Even at 93, says the film director Justin Chadwick, Nelson Mandela "radiates electricity". It's a quality he shares with Idris Elba, British-born star of The Wire, who plays Mandela in Chadwick's official biopic. "When you spend time with Idris, you feel that same energy."

The movie, which has premiered at the Toronto film festival, is a respectful epic adapted by William Nicholson from Mandela's autobiography: A Long Walk to Freedom. Mandela also approved the casting, despite the lack of immediate physical resemblance.

The ailing former South African president was shown some scenes at the end of last year on an iPad by producer Anant Singh, who first approached him 25 years ago. "Is that me?" Mandela apparently asked, looking at the footage. Singh then explained the prosthetics involved in aging Elba up. "And then he started laughing," said Singh at a press conference for the film. "But he endorsed Idris."