- Thank you. (audience cheering)
- They're very excited. (audience cheering)
- That's too kind.
- [Host] They're very excited.
- Keep going, it's good. (host chuckles)
- I'm supposed to tell you too,
my sister's very jealous of me today.
She loves you so much.
And I was like, "Whatever, I get to talk to him."
So wait, your voice is so iconic.
You just have one of those voices that is so...
I literally watched "Sonic the Hedgehog 2,"
And I was like, "I know this voice."
And I was like, "How do I know this voice?"
Has it always been that kind of vibe
or did you smoke a lot as a youngster?
(Idris chuckles)
- I've done it all, no.
In the mornings it's really down there somewhere like that.
- But that's so cool.
- When I was a kid though, I had one of these voices
that in here somewhere just little bit low (mumbles).
Speak up.
I am speaking up. (audience laughing)
- And then puberty hit and it was all over.
- Puberty hit about 14 years old.
I had a mustache and I had a deep voice,
I could pass for 19.
- That's amazing.
Okay, so were you always into acting
'cause I heard that you almost did sports, right?
- Well, I was one of these kids
that could sort of do a lot of different things.
I was a great swimmer.
I was playing soccer, football, whatever.
I played cricket.
I played rugby, which is a bit--
- Very fancy childhood.
All these swimming and cricket.
- It wasn't fancy, I promise you that.
It's just I went to a boy school
and the school just had everything.
- It was an all boys school - All boys school, yeah.
- Did you like that? - Mm.
(host laughs)
- I would not have liked an all girls school.
- I moved from one area to another area.
So I started in a mixed school, right?
I was about 13 years old.
My mom said, "We're moving to this other area."
Okay, great.
Go into a new school.
Exciting.
It's called Trinity.
I was like, "Great. Going to Trinity."
The first day before school,
you put your clothes on the bed.
"This is what I'm gonna wear tomorrow,
I'm gonna look so cool."
Did that, get to the school and it's lunchtime, okay?
And the teacher's like, "Welcome Idris. This is the school."
And I'm looking over and I said to him,
"Do the girls eat somewhere else?"
(audience laughing)
- That's how you found out?
- "No son, this is a boy's school."
(Idris growls)
- [Host] Oh my gosh.
- It was a shock.
- That's sad.
- So then (chuckles) I ended up becoming very competitive.
- Okay, that's cool.
All the sports came into play there.
I'm really glad you didn't do sports
and you were acting.
(audience applauding)
So you had all the guy friends, no girlfriends,
but who was your best friend growing up?
- My best friend was actually my arch-enemy.
This kid called Boogie.
- Your arch-enemy?
- The first day I got there--
- I would love to go to therapy with you.
(everyone laughs)
- You would learn a lot, honestly.
(host laughs)
But the first day I got there, I was a new kid.
I got picked on by this one kid.
He wasn't a big kid, he just had a mouth.
It was like motor mouth.
And he really got at me.
So we got into a fight,
ended up outside the headmaster's room,
headmaster slammed open the door,
"You're the new kid and Richard,
you should know better.
What happened?"
And we both looked at each other,
said, "Nothing, sir."
And we didn't snitch on each other and that was it.
And then we just became best friends since.
- That's a great story. (audience applauding)
- Its a true story. (audience applauding)
- He was the best man at my wedding.
He's still my guy.
- Oh my gosh.
That's amazing.
Well, speaking of fighting,
Deon Cole had this to say about working with you.
(host chuckles)
- Deon. (air whooshing)
- Let me tell you about Idris' ass.
Check this out. (audience laughing)
We practiced for two weeks straight on this scene, right?
Of how to fight in the fight, right?
Two weeks.
We know it's so much so,
we're like, "We ain't coming."
We get first day on the set, we get there.
all of a sudden they go, "Action,"
bam, hits me in the head.
(audience applauding)
- So what was your memory of that?
- Maybe you should have gone to the rehearsals more.
- So Deon Cole is a comedian, right?
But he's such a good actor, right?
And I was like, "This guy's really good."
So boom, I hit him, but I didn't mean to hit him.
I was so embroiled in his character
that I was like, "Wow, you're really upsetting me, boom."
(audience laughing)
It was a slip, but it did hit him (pops) right on his head.
- I'm just saying you're not a small dude.
When you're hitting someone you're coming in hot.
- Little Deon.
- It was hilarious.
He was like, "He hit me in my face."
(Idris laughing)
(everyone laughs)
I was like, "Wait don't y'all do fake moves?"
He goes, "Yeah, we do."
- We do.
We're meant to.
And he's node just was like, (roaring).
I was like, (soothing).
- Kind of a cool wound though.
Idris Elba hit me in fight.
I'd be like, "You should see him."
(Idris laughing)
So the new movie is called "Sonic the Hedgehog 2."
So tell everybody what it's about
because I didn't really know these characters growing up.
I think other people our age might know.
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2,
obviously we know he was part of the game and is very famous
and Knuckles is one of his enemies in the game
or at least ally enemies, whatever.
And in the film, it's a really great story
because I don't wanna spoil it for you guys
who haven't seen it,
but when you meet Knuckles, he is all business.
He's not here to play, make friends.
And you're thinking, "Oh, son's gonna have a hard time."
But by the end of the movie, something else happens.
I don't wanna spoil it for you, but it's a great arc.
And Knuckles is this little guy with big hands.
- Huge hands. (Idris laughs)
I know too.
That's my favorite part.
when Sonic comes at him, he is like, "No."
(chuckles)
He just holds out his hand.
It's amazing. - It's just like that.
- It's like the big dude, little dude moment.
I love the movie and I love just having kids...
I have a five and seven year old.
- I have a seven year old.
- Oh yeah? - Yeah.
- It's such a fun age.
It's cool when you're watching a movie
and they learn something from it too,
especially relationships.
That's what I love about Knuckle's kinda journey on it.
And with Sonic and with Jim Carrey's character,
it's interesting how the arch and how that story helps kids.
It's a fun thing to watch with your kids,
but it's also a really good message.
- That's so true.
'Cause there's a point where Sonic and Knuckles
realize that they're more alike than they are enemies,
and that moment's quite rich.
- This is kinda like you and your friend.
- Yes.
(audience applauding)
- Look at that, it's very much.
- Did you get a third of this writing?
They just ripped your story.
So your son, you said is seven?
- He's seven.
He saw the movie and I asked him, I said,
"What was your favorite part?"
And he went, "All of it." (laughs)
- My God, that's like me asking my kid, "How was your day?"
"It was fine."
Everyday I'm like, "Anything happen?"
"Nope, just fine."
I'm like, "Cool, we're not gonna expand upon?"
"No, cool."
"Okay, cool."
So wait, you also have a podcast with your wife, Sabrina.
I think this is so cool.
It's called "Coupledom."
So does this help your relationship or does is it taxing?
- No, we learn a lot.
The "Coupledom," isn't really just about romantic couples,
it's about partnerships.
So we have all these great partnerships.
We spoke to Ben and Jerry, right?
Ben and Jerry.
We're a great partnership, done it for years.
And we learn from their stories.
It helps us understand what we have to do
and things that we haven't thought about, shortcomings.
One of the keys is just communication
and just being honest and not being too fragile
when you hear something you don't like,
just being able to sort of absorb that, move on.
But I learned a lot from the podcast.
I'm not gonna lie, really good stuff.
- I love that.
I love that y'all do that together.
So you have a certain party trick though
that Sabrina's not fond of.
So what's this party trick?
(host laughing)
I feel the all boy school's about to come out right now.
(host laughs) - 100%.
- No, my part of trick is that,
I have a scattertonic sense of humor.
Does anyone know what that means?
- A scattertonic? - Sense of humor.
- I feel like Pee-wee Herman right now with word of the day.
- Scattertonic, it means that when someone does a fart joke,
you just can't stop laughing.
- I am into fart jokes.
I think that's funny. - Me too, right?
So this is my party trick.
(mouth farts)
(host laughing)
- And it slides.
(mouth farts)
Oh my God. (host laughing)
- It's being able to do it without...
Your eyebrows are gonna stay still.
You gotta look really just (mouth farts).
- My favorite is the slide up slide
- Is the slide up.
- [Host] It's all about to slide.
- It's the slide up.
When I'm acting, and the countdown is like,
"Okay, turning over.
Speed, camera, and (mouth farts)."
(host laughing)
(audience applauding)
Action.
Let's try to keep a straight face.
- That's never not funny.
Oh my God.
You know you're working
with a really talented individual and they don't break.
(Idris laughing)