Idris Elba says he is “one hundred per cent” a gamer

Idris Elba has revealed his lifetime love of video games in a new interview.

Speaking to the New York Times, Elba (who voices the character of Knuckles in the film Sonic 2) revealed he sees himself as a gamer “one hundred per cent”.

He went on to say he had a Nintendo Switch in his bag during the interview, but it all started with 1980s home computer, the Commodore 64. “Dude, that’s how far it goes back for me,” said Elba.

“And then when I could afford one, I had a Sega Genesis. And I’ve pretty much had every single console since then. I’m a grown man now, but I still play FIFA and driving games.”

When asked about the ease with which Commodore 64 games could be copied, Elba said: “Well, it’s funny you say that. I remember you could take a blank tape and dub a game onto it. And you had to take the tabs off the cassette so you didn’t record over it. [Exaggeratedly serious voice] But of course, all my games were authorised purchases, I bought them all.”

Earlier this year, Elba said he plans on “leaning away from the acting work” to focus more on his music. As well as founding record label 7Wallace in 2015 and Djing at the likes of Coachella, Elba has also released music under his own name. In January, his collaborative EP with Australian indie band Lime Cordiale was released.

Speaking about ‘Cordi Elba’ to NME, Elba said: “This whole album was me getting rid of the boxes I put myself in. It ended up being an expression of the individuals in the room. Sure, there’s some psychedelic shit on there with us getting deep into metaphors but at the same time, it’s just about having a fucking laugh with it.”

In other news, a host of new bands and artists have spoken to NME about appearing on the FIFA soundtrack.

”It’s also one of the things you can tell your mum about and she understands that you’re doing alright. That, and you can brag to all your mates from school about it as well,” said Yard Act‘s James Smith.

“The fact that they support so many up and coming musicians like myself instead of just going for artists that already have big established profiles is amazing. It’s exactly the sort of promotion and support that we need at this moment in time,” added Baby Queen.