He made his name as a hard-nosed detective in TV series Luther and a notorious drug runner in another series The Wire.
But it seems Idris Elba isn’t so confident when it comes to flying – especially when asked to perform a number of 360-degree loops and rolls in a light aircraft 4,000ft in the air.
The 42-year-old actor – who took part in the challenge for a new TV programme – learned to fly a plane in advance of taking part in a competition at an air show in Coventry, West Midlands, U.K.
Elba said: ‘Your mind flashes through a whole lot of stuff when you’re upside down and then you come back out of that loop and the g-s hit you like a punch in the face.’
He added: ‘Before you do a 360-roll you have to let it just sit there. Oh man, it’s just the worst feeling. I had nightmares about falling, so that is like “I’m actually falling, this is not a dream”
Elba was trained by aerobatic pilot Ed Cyster to perform the challenge, so he could carry out nine different manoeuvres linked in a routine – competing against other experienced pilots.
