Stringer, Janek, Luther... in the last decade, Idris Elba has brought a load of fantastic characters to the screen, stealing scenes right, left and centre.
And now he's added Stacker Pentecost of Pacific Rim to the list, battling giant reptiles in the sea and air with giant robots. And there’s plenty more to come.
In fact, there are a million reasons why Idris Elba is cool.
For time constraints, here are 30 of the very best.
He’s a cockney
Let the Bow Bells argument ring on. The son of West African parents, Elba grew up in East Ham. As many Americans still may not know - he’s a cockney!
He was in Family Affairs
It was the Channel Five soap charting the lives of London families loved by millions (about one) before its cancellation in 2005!
Featuring a number of actors would depart for greater roles, one of the initial cast was none other than Idris Elba as the pub hugging Tim Webster.
Even with a special appearance by Peter Stringfellow, it’s safe to say that Webster â€" even with a handful of appearances - launched the show’s most successful career.
He rocks a moustache
Who else carries off a moustache that well?
He’s Luther
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Still relatively unknown to the majority of British television viewers in 2010, what better way to make an entrance than as DCI John Luther?
The murky exploits of the obsessive Luther made for compulsive viewing as, even surrounded by a famous co-cast, Elba stole the show.
With the current and final series enthralling 5 million viewers a week on BBC 1, talk of the Neil Cross created psychological thriller moving to the big screen seem to be getting nearer all the time.
Now, that would be cool.
He produces Luther!
What? No way... Not content with scene stealing as the gruff and complicated Luther, Elba’s steered the show behind the scenes as an associate produ cer since the first series .
That’s a weight that not only helps him shape the role but may also just help get the DCI on to the big screen. Make it happen!
He can do comedy
And he’s cool enough to take the heat when he needs to. Elba appeared as the new boss in the episode of the US version of The Office in 2009 called, er, ‘The New Boss’.
His non-nonsense Charles Miner quickly became hated, just as he should.
As Elba recalled, star of the show Steve Carell asked him, “'My character hates your character so much, it makes me want to hate you in real life. Is that OK?â€
He’s a fan of The Rock!
Elba’s already established a fairly diverse career, but could that have an obvious inspiration? Elba’s gone on record with his admiration for the artist now known as Dwayne Johnson, who’s travelled from wrestling icon star to box office behemoth.
That said, I can’t quite see The Rock owning both Heimdall and Luther in one year.
He’s a god!
Idris Elba is a god. Officially.
Well in the Marvel film universe anyway, where this year he repeats his steely performance as Heimdall in Thor: the Dark World.
As the Asgardian guardian of worlds, the script can’t have looked much... But behind gold eyes, he managed to inject some humour â€" and of course lay down the law to some frost giants.
In the upcoming sequel, he’ll surely get the chance to prove he’s the coolest again.
He’s got some other Marvel-lous projects in the pipeline
There are a lot of actors who’d like to slot into the Marvel film universe, but could Idris Elba capture two major roles?
Since before his first Thor appearance, there have been rumours of him taking the lead in a film of his own.
Marvel heroes and sometime Avengers “Power Man†Luke Cage and the Stan Lee created Black Panther have all been mentioned in the media.
With an ever expanding roster of Marvel fi lms being announced, the spandex could be being measured up sooner rather than later.
He might be the next Doctor Who
A speculation runs riot, could Idris be running towards the TARDIS?
In June the odds that he’d take on the next iteration of the Time Lord reached 33/1.
It’s a stretch - not since the 1970s has an actor with such big screen pedigree taken on the role - but as the Doctor gains an increasing foothold in the United States, he’d certainly take the show on to broader frontiers.
He could be the next James Bond
There’s no doubt that Daniel Craig’s riding high as the sixth official James Bond. But even with a freshly signed deal for two more Bond films, rumours are always circulating around one of the roles in cinema.
In Idris Elba’s case those rumours might just be true. During the release of last year’s Skyfall, news broke that he had met with the Bond film producers.
 Elba’s since claimed that Daniel Craig dropped him in it and has kept schtum ever since ... Definitely a bit of news to watch out for.
He’s stuck with it
Elba didn’t step out of drama school into Hollywood. Or even Family Affairs. While he may have shortened his name from Idrissa to Idris after some classroom jibes about it sounding feminine, but he hasn’t given in easily since.
Early on he filled in working in bars, clubs and fitting tires while taking small television roles where he could.
Even when he moved to America he had to wait a while before getting Wired...
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He’s not really famous, really...
Even now, with a film that promises to boot a few monsters out of the sea at the same time as he rules the roost on Tuesday night BBC, Elba still sees himself as slightly forgettable.
Modest he may be, but 2013 is sure to be his biggest year yet.
37 episodes of The Wire
Rude words do exist in the clip above
It was the role that luckily enough for us, made him.
That would be The Wire, possibly the greatest television show ever made.
That would be Russell “Stringer†Bell, 20002 â€" 2004 (spoiler! Actually, no spoiler - you've had plenty of time to catch up).
He was one of The Losers (2010)
Another comic book adaptation nailed.
As knife wielding ice cold Cpt William Roque, Elba was fast growing his big screen presence.
He can beat the Lizards on the Pacific Rim (2013)
Sure, having a character name like Stacker Pentecost must help... But if you want the words “Today we are cancelling the apocalypse†delivered in your high-budget tale of Mecha versus Kaiju then you better give Idris Elba a call.
He’s got fans in important places
During David Cameron’s visit to the United States in May 2012 President Obama invited a host of Brits to the Whitehouse... But reportedly took some special time to tell Elba how much he and the First Lady enjoyed Luther.
It was an experience Elba compared to visiting Disney World.
He’s an international DJ
We’ve his uncle to help for this one.
The aspiring actor helped him launch a wedding-DJ business in the mid-1980s. Now you might catch Elba DJ-ing around the world in his parallel career as DJ Big Driis â€" often in his native East End.
He’s done a stint in the studio as well, co-producing a track on the 2007 American Gangster album by little known rapper Jay-Z...
Idris Elba’s How Clubbing Changed the World (2012)
He doesn’t just play it. Elba’s passionate about his music and fronted this documentary on the definitive moments of dance in 2012.
Interviewing the likes of Will.i.am, Paul Oakenfold and David Guetta - all from a nicely British perspective of course - Elba crossed the globe to tell the story of the counter-culture movement that’s gone international.
He captained Prometheus (2012)
The Alien franchise has a long in history of captivating character actors, so when the Elba’s name was connected to the role of Starship Captain Janek in the is it/isn’t it Alien prequel no one was surprised.
“Just got a ping about one click west of you...â€
He scrapped with Liam Gallagher at the NME Awards
And it was over a hat. Whether Elba’s beanie offended the beady eyed front man or, as Liam says, his hair was ruffled first, one thing’s for sure: Elba’s gone one better than Robbie Williams.
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011)
A prolific work rate can appear like a lack of quality control, but not when you’re going to steal the show from Nic Cage.
Following the dire first film, landing Elba to play French action-priest Moreau must have been a dream for the filmmakers.
He’s kissed Beyonce... A lot
Admittedly it was onscreen when he played her husband in Obsessed.
Still, Elba wasn’t worried about Jay-Z, having worked with him previously on the American Gangster film and soundtrack.
In fact, he thought that filming a lot of the kissing on the first day of shooting helped break the ice.
He got serious in Sometimes in April (2005)
A 2005 ensemble cast TV movie that few may have heard of... But this dramatisation of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide cemented Elba’s reputation after The Wire.
A film that didn’t shy away from showing the horrors of the time, his performance earned him two award nominations.
He’s a videogame star
It’s not all TV, film, DJ-ing... Elba also somehow found the time in 2012 to lend his voice to one of the most successful videogames of all time, Call of Duty Modern Warfare III.
If you’re one of the millions still playing it, listen out for “Truckâ€.
He’s award winning
Despite drawing a host of nominations and critical praise, it took until the 2012 Golden Globes for Elba to win a major award.
Beating a large teapot full of British talent including Hugh Bonneville, Bill Nighy and his former The Wire co-star Dominic West, what did he win for?
Luther, of course .
He might ask luck to be a lady again...
Leaving home at 16 to join the National Youth Music Theatre with a role in Guys and Dolls, Elba travelled the world.
He may not see much of a future in musicals, but you never know. He still says that singing is something that he loves to do...
He pops up in music videos
Successful on screen, stage and behind the decks, Elba’s also appeared in music videos for Angie Stone, the Isley Brothers and Styles P among others.
Perhaps his best work came last year when he not only appeared in Mumford Son’s "Lover of the Light" video but directed it as well.
He’s a fixture on lifestyle lists
He doesn’t win awards for his acting. Essence Magazine voted him one of the “Ten Hottest Men on the Planet†while he’s recently appeared on the GQ best dressed list as well.
He’s playing Nelson Mandela
As the world keeps one eye on South Africa, this year will see Idris Elba join Morgan Freeman and Terrence Howard in portraying the former president on film.
It’s a role that he’s described as an honour, saying “I’m very proud of it and I can’t wait for the world to see it.â€
Spanning the whole of Mandela’s life, Long Wa lk to Freedom is out this November.
Stay tuned for the Oscars.
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