Idris Elba never watched 'The Wire' and still refuses to

'The Wire' alum Idris Elba says he's never watched the show — and still refuses to try: 'It's weird for me to go back and watch it.'

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Idris Elba’s wild confession

Believe it or not, Idris Elba—who spent three seasons as the smooth-talking kingpin Stringer Bell on The Wire—has never actually watched the show he helped make legendary. On Amy Poehler’s Good Hang podcast he confessed that reliving his own performance feels “weird,” especially after Stringer’s demise felt like “a part of me” dying too.

Too real to revisit

Even Poehler’s heartfelt “you’ve got to watch it!” pitch couldn’t sway him—Elba says he’d rather stay “inside the role” than become “overly conscious” of himself on screen. Despite this, he’s endlessly proud of The Wire’s multi-generational impact, getting stopped daily by fans who still can’t believe he hasn’t peeked at his own masterpiece.