Idris Elba to produce and narrate WW2 documentary

The docu-drama will focus on people of colour who dedicated their lives for their country

Hollywood star Idris Elba wants to highlight the unsung heroes of World War II in his new National Geographic documentary series. The project, which will be produced by October Films and the actor’s Green Door Pictures, will cover unsung heroes of colour at Dunkirk, Pearl Harbor and D-Day during the Second World War.

Elba, 51, whose grandfather fought in the war, told reporters the documentary was pitched to him when the production house showed him a photo of soldiers from the war, and asked, ‘What do you think is missing from these pictures?’ The actor replied: “The answer of course was people of colour and I realised I didn’t know any stories about them from World War II. So, this felt like a genuinely fresh and original way into a perennial subject.” 

Each episode of the programme, tentatively called The Color of Victory: Heroes of WW2, will focus on three specific people via premium dramatisation, character portraits and archive material. Elba will also highlight how their experiences of war directly influenced the post-war movements for freedom and equality for people of colour all over the globe. Previously, the actor had worked with the channel for King of Speed, which showed the history of underground racing, and how it impacted the modern motorsport world. 

Meanwhile, Elba recently revealed he has been in therapy for a year because of his obsession with work. He told in  a podcast: “I’ve been in therapy for about a year now. It’s a lot. In my therapy, I’ve been thinking a lot about changing, almost to the point of neuropaths being changed. 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.” Elba once worked for 10 days straight on a film set and spent his downtime relaxing in his music studio instead of being with his family.

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