Comedian and host of The Chappelle Show, Dave Chappelle, revealed that Idris Elba used to supply him with the devil’s lettuce.
In an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, Dave Chappelle reflected on the days where he’d get his supply from Avengers actor, Idris Elba, outside a New York Comedy Club:
“Idris Elba, the famous actor, used to be a security guard at [comedy club] Caroline’s… I used to buy weed from him…”.
Elba, renowned for his roles in TV shows and films such as The Wire, Luther and Thor, hustled his way to success. In a 2013 interview with GQ, Idris mentioned how different his past was two decades ago.
A local DJ at New York dive bars, an actor performing small roles, and a comedy club bouncer – Elba did what he could to support himself and his wife at the time, who was also pregnant.
In between gigs, he found himself sleeping in his van, and the stresses of life began to weigh on him. As a result, Elba resorted to selling marijuana to successful and up-and-coming comedians:
“I was running with cats. I mean, I was DJ’ing, but I was also pushing bags of weed; I was doing my work. I had to…I know that sounds corny, but this is the truth.”
However, his passion for acting was always there. As a student, Elba studied drama and found solace in playing a character, mentioning how comfortable he felt as the audience was looking at the character, not him. His break came when he scored the role of ‘Russell Bell’ in the HBO series The Wire.
Additionally, Elba has made a name for himself in the music community, DJ’ing alongside some of the industry’s most successful artists, including Fatboy Slim, Sean Paul and Wiley.
In his interview with Joe Rogan, Chapelle commented about treating people with respect, particularly those who work in customer service. You never know, you could be dissing the next Idris Elba when you decide to give that seccy some sass.
