Happy 44th birthday Idris Elba! A look back at his year from Star Trek Beyond to OBE honours

Idris Elba turns 44 on Tuesday (6 September) and what a year he's had. From starring in six movies released in cinemas including Star Trek Beyond, Bastille Day and Zootropolis and launching his own clothing line with clothing brand Superdry, he's been busy. He's even been awarded an OBE! So with all that in mind, in order to celebrate his special day, IBTimesUK has taken a look back at key moments in his career over the last 12 months...

Cinema domination

Elba was most recently seen on screen as villain Krall in sci-fi sequel Star Trek Beyond opposite Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg and Chris Pine but that's certainly not the only title he's appeared in this year. The actor also lent his voice to Disney animations The Jungle Book, Zootropolis and Finding Dory, as well as starring in action film Bastille Day and drama A Hundred Streets. A hundred movies more like!

OBE

In early 2016, Elba was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) as part of the New Year Honours for services to drama. Paddington's Imelda Staunton received the same accolade, as did Cold Feet star James Nesbitt.

Nominations

This year saw Elba receive two Golden Globe nominations; one for his performance in war drama Beasts Of No Nation and another for his ongoing work on television crime series Luther. He also received a Primetime Emmy award nomination for the latter title too.

Screen Actors Guild Award wins

While he might have only been nominated for two Golden Globes this year, the Thor actor actually went on to win double accolades at the Screen Actors Guild Awards which were held in Los Angeles, California, in January. He was nominated for an entire cast nod for Beasts Of No Nation also, but went on to win for his lead performance in the film, as well as his work in Luther.

Landing the lead role in The Dark Tower

Come 2017, Elba will be seen opposite Oscar-winner Matthew McConaughey in the on-screen adaptation of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series. Elba is set to star in the lead role (which was originally offered to McConaughey), playing heroic character Roland Deschain, a gunslinger who sets out on a quest to find a mythical tower with the hopes that the discovery of it and its powers will save his dying world.

Superdry clothing launch

In November 2015, Elba began creating his own line of clothes in collaboration with British fashion brand Superdry. Just a few weeks ago, the label launched a pop-up store in Shoreditch, London, dedicated to Elba's collections.

Lining up his directorial debut Yardie

Chances are, these plans were probably a long-time in the making, but nevertheless in July, it emerged that Elba was set to make his directorial debut with upcoming drug-trafficking thriller Yardie. Based on Jamaica-born British writer Victor Headley's cult 1992 novel of the same name, the movie, written by Brock Norman Brock (who co-wrote Bronson), will tell the story of D, a courier tasked with delivering a batch of cocaine from Jamaica to London.

During the journey, however, he ventures off on his own with the drugs and finds himself on the streets of Hackney, while his former friends search him out – if they find him, D's treachery will not be forgiven.

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