Idris Elba's long walk to freedom begins: First look at trailer for Nelson Mandela biopic
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A first small glimpse has been released of the hugely-anticipated Nelson Mandela movie Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom.
British actor Idris Elba plays the extraordinary South African leader and campaigner and he is heard reading from Mandela’s autobiography A Long Walk To Freedom – in a convincing accent.
Elba is not seen in close-up however – the 1min 13sec clip features the star walking across a plain towards a stunning sunset surrounded by children, and waving.
Long walk: Idris Elba as Nelson Mandela in the UK teaser trailer
Stunning countryside: Idris Elba is barely visible in the trailer which does feature some glorious countryside - and his voice as Mandela
Long road ahead: Elba seen in long shot in the short teaser trailer
The Luther star’s first words are ‘I have walked the long walk to freedom. It has been a long walk and it is not over yet’.
Bond girl Naomie Harris plays Winnie Mandela in the biopic, and she has her own new poster for the film, which has the tagline ‘the leader you knew, the woman you didn’t’.
The movie tells the extraordinary story of Mandela's life, from his childhood in a rural village to being imprisoned on Robben Island and then becoming the first democratically elected president of South Africa in 1994.
Towards the horizon: Elba makes strides towards freedom in the much-awaited film
Children of the corn: the trailer features young children following Elba as Mandela on his journey
Remarkably the film is an mainly-British affair, with Elba as Mandela, Harris as Winnie and director Justin Chadwick of The Other Boleyn Girl taking the reins.
Elba is already the favourite to win an Oscar for the part in 2014. He has never met Mandela but said: ‘It meant so much to me, it's such a massive opportunity to be part of a true legend's life, and more importantly, the film re-educates people on this legend.
‘I never met Mr. Mandela because he was very ill, so our interpretation of him was without his personal influence. But the script is such a good script, and obviously it comes from his book, and the book speaks for itself.’
Oscar-winner? Long Walk to Freedom stars Idris Elba as South African president Nelson Mandela
Historic couple: Idris and Naomie take on two of world history's iconic figures
Best of British: Naomie Harris stars alongside Elba as Winnie Mandela
Elba admits he looks ‘look nothing like him’ but judging by the trailer he certainly has studied Mandela’s voice.
As for Harris, playing Winnie Mandela was the ‘toughest thing’ she’s ever done.
She explained: ‘For me, that was the most challenging role that I've ever played and I absolutely loved playing her - right from this innocent woman to this warrior figure.
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‘That journey for me was the most challenging that I've ever done and I've enjoyed that the most.’
The film is released in cinemas on 3 January 2014.
The film is released in cinemas on 3 January 2014.
Elba is currently starring on TV in the third series of Luther, in which he plays a cop, and in new movie Pacific Rim. He made his name in the hugely-acclaimed US series The Wire, playing drug dealer Stringer Bell.
Long walk: Harris has finished filming her role as Winnie Mandela
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2361977/Idris-Elbas-Long-Walk-To-Freedom-Mandela-biopic.html#ixzz2YsG2AlHf
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