Idris Elba admits he is seeing a therapist to improve his work-life balance

Miu von Furstenberg 3 Min Read
Idris Elba Netflix's "Luther: The Fallen Sun" New York Premiere
Idris Elba attends Netflix's "Luther: The Fallen Sun" New York Premiere at Paris Theater on March 08, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)

Idris Elba loves his job, but he's still learning how to separate himself from his work.

Elba described himself as an “absolute workaholic” on the Monday episode of the Changes With Annie Macmanus podcast. He said he's been addressing the issue with a therapist for about a year.

“In my therapy, I’ve been thinking a lot about changing, almost to the point of neuropaths being changed and shifting,” he said. “It’s not because I don’t like myself or anything like that, it’s just because I have some unhealthy habits that have really formed. And I work in an industry that I’m rewarded for those unhealthy habits.”

Idris Elba "H/Jack" World Premiere - Arrivals
Idris Elba arrives at the World Premiere of “Hijack” at BFI Southbank on June 27, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)

Elba noted that his penchant for overworking is often valued because he is “someone that can go, ‘I’m not going to see my family for six months' and I’m in there grinding and making a new family and leave them.”

He emphasized that “nothing that’s too extreme is good, everything needs balance,” and that he's worked to “adjust” the way he views his relationship to his profession.

The Emmy-nominated actor, however, called out a conundrum he has with finding carving out time to relax.

Idris Elba Premier League Hall of Fame
Actor, Idris Elba arrives during a Premier League Hall of Fame event on May 03, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Tom Dulat/Getty Images)

“The things that make me relaxed end up being work,” Elba said. “I'm exhilarated by [my work] and I'm also so relaxed by it. I could work 10 days on a film … and come back and be [relaxed] more so than sitting on the sofa watching TV with the family, which is bad, right? This is the part where I’ve got to normalize what makes me relaxed, it can’t be all work.”

The Beasts of No Nation actor has already starred in four made-for-streaming projects this year (and voiced a character in the video game Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty). He most notably had the lead role as a business negotiator on the Apple TV+ series Hijack.


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