British actor Idris Elba's humble beginnings include being a doorman at Carolines on Broadway, a popular New York comedy club where he met such soon-to-be stars as Dave Chappelle.
"David Chappelle remembers me 'cause he used to buy weed from me," Elba recently said on The Jess Cagle Show on SiriusXM Channel 109.
"I used to sell weed. Can I say that on the show?" he asked, then continued. "I did that for a little bit just to, you know, help pay the way. I DJ'ed quite a bit. I was a doorman. I was a doorman at Carolines comedy club [in New York], which is fascinating now, when I meet the comedians that you kind of remember the English guy. Tall English guy with the funny accent and the little hair."
Elba added he wasn't proud of his pot-selling past, even though Cagle noted it's new legal status in various U.S. states. "Thank you," Elba said. "Well, it wasn't back then."
Elba has received awards for his work in the following movies and TV series: Beasts of No Nation, Luther, The Jungle Book and The Losers. He's also appeared in American Gangster, Avengers (two), Pacific Rim, Star Trek Beyond, The Harder They Fall, The Wire, Thor (three) and Zootopia.
