Despite playing one of TV’s most iconic villains, Idris Elba reveals why he will never watch The Wire: “It’s weird for me to go back and watch it”

Idris Elba is known as one of the smoothest actors around, thanks to both the caliber of his performances and for the cool demeanor he brings to many of his roles – a reputation he built on the back of his beloved performance as Stringer Bell across three seasons of The Wire. As it turns out though, Elba has never watched his own breakthrough performance, telling Amy Poehler it would be “weird” if he did while guesting on her Good Hang podcast (via EW).

“If I’m really honest, I didn’t watch The Wire,” Elba says. “I didn’t watch it. And I feel bad. It’s not that I’m not a fan of it – I was there. I made a show that was, you know, so intense and so real, so important, even though we didn’t realize it. I didn’t realize the importance of the show while making it. I didn’t participate in its celebration as a viewer, as a fan. And so I feel a little bit outside of the club.”