Idris Elba has made a name for himself as an actor that completely immerses into a character. Now it looks like he’s mastering another career milestone: media magnate.
Deadline reports that the Marvel Universe actor is joining a group bid of £1B ($1.2B) bid to purchase British broadcaster Channel 4.
The outlet claims that the Elba is in talks to partner with Marc Boyan, a marketing guru to shore up funds for the venture. It was reported in that Boyan’s marketing firm Miroma had tapped bankers to look into an acquisition when the channel is officially put on the market.
Elba founded his production company, Green Door Pictures in 2013 “with the mission of “enabling a more direct route to goal for talented film and TV series writers, actors, directors and producers to bring the best of diverse storytelling to a global audience.”
The company has produced Netflix’s “Turn Up Charlie,” starring Elba and “Guerilla,” a 2017 film starring Chiwetel Ejiofor among other titles.
Although successful, the Channel 4 purchase will be one of the largest for Green Door.
It was reported by Reuters that the British government opted to sell Channel 4 a publicly-owned but commercially funded broadcaster founded platform. Launched nearly 40 years ago, it was positioned as a modern answer to the BBC and ITV (ITV).
Chief Executive Alex Mahon told staff in an email widely published on Twitter that the broadcaster had presented a vision for its future that was “rooted in continued public ownership”.
However, she added that ultimately its ownership was for the government to propose and parliament to decide.
Channel 4’s chief executive officer Alex Mahon shared a memo in 2022 stating that the platform aims to be “rooted in continued public ownership.”
“We want Channel 4 to flourish and thrive in the face of a rapidly-changing media landscape,” a spokesperson shared. “It holds a cherished place in our broadcasting landscape and we want that to remain the case.”