Maybe it doesn't help to know someone in the business
Idris Elba has revealed that his daughter failed to nab a part in his upcoming film 'Beast' because their "chemistry wasn't right".
Elba's 20-year-old daughter, Isan, auditioned for the role of his on-screen daughter in the film. But it turns out being the daughter of a mega-famous, mega-rich actor and DJ is not the walk in the park it may seem.
"She wants to be an actress and she auditioned," Elba said on 'The Breakfast Club'. "And you know, it came down to chemistry in the end. You know, my daughter, she was great, but the relationship in the film and the relationship with my daughter was — the chemistry wasn’t right for film, weirdly enough."
He added that she "didn't talk to him for about three weeks." Who can blame her, really.
Elba plays Dr. Nate Daniels, a recently widowed husband who returns to South Africa, where he first met his wife, on a long-planned trip with their daughters to a game reserve managed by Martin Battles (Sharlto Copley), an old family friend and wildlife biologist.
But what begins as a journey of healing jolts into a fearsome fight for survival when a lion, a survivor of blood-thirsty poachers who now sees all humans as the enemy, begins stalking them.
'Beast' producer Will Packer said Elba's daughter was "very close" to landing the role in the movie, but he added, "Idris is right, some of the nuances of that real-life relationship sometimes doesn’t translate on screen."
Elba said that he was "very proud" of his daughter after the audition process. She later attended the premiere of 'Beast' alongside her father.
To be a fly on the wall when that conversation went down would be something of an experience. But we're sure we'll see Isan in productions down the line by the way her dad talks about her.
'Beast' releases in Irish cinemas on August 26.