Idris Elba scours Hackney for paid extras to appear in new film

Local lad: actor Idris Alba at a recent Ebola conference. Photograph: Jessica Lea/DFID via Wikimedia Commons

You could be in with the chance to work with Hackney boy turned Hollywood star Idris Elba, as he is searching for paid extras to act in a new film set in Hackney.

Although the story of the film is still shrouded in mystery, what we do know is that the movie will be based on the borough’s African Caribbean community and set in 1983. However, the actor-turned-director has not yet posted any other details on social media.

Elba was born in Hackney in 1972 after his mother moved to London from Ghana, and his father from Sierra Leone, spending the first 11 years of his life there before moving to Canning Town.

It appears that Hackney is close to the Luther star’s heart – as he said to Destination Hackney in 2012, “Hackney is very dear to me, it was where I learned to ride my bike and London Fields was my park of choice.”

The London lad has also had a block in an affordable housing scheme in Andrew Street, E8, named after him – ‘Elba House’ – and was invited to open it.

As Elba moved away from the town in 1983, perhaps the film will be a love letter to his home town and a chance for him to reminisce about his childhood.

Auditions will be held by Key Casting on May 8 from 4-9PM at the Whitmore Community Centre, N1 5NU, and you must be over 16, be legally allowed to work in the UK and have a full UK driving license. Attendees will be provided with further details about the project on the day.