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Home • Videos

We Asked 'Cats' Cast: What If You Had 9 Lives?

"Cats" star Idris Elba tells ESSENCE he's going to use one of his lives to educate. Professor Elba anyone?
We Asked 'Cats' Cast: What If You Had 9 Lives?
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 16: Idris Elba poses at the World Premiere of the new film “Cats” based on the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center on December 16, 2019 in New York City.(Photo by Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic)
By Danielle Young · Updated December 6, 2020

Let’s be honest. If you’ve seen Cats, we’re sure you drooled over the devastatingly handsome Idris Elba, one of the film’s stars. Can we talk about range, please? Ladies, our man is in that film, all dressed up and down in a literal cat suit—and he’s still fine.

We caught up with Elba and the rest of his Cats co-stars and asked them if they embodied the feline creatures and indeed had nine lives, what would they do with them? Or which life do they think they’re living right now?

Sabrina Elba, our man Idris’ better half, tells ESSENCE that she thinks she’s lived a third of the way through her nine lives. “I think marriage is definitely like, I’m ready for the rest of it now. I’m nowhere close. I’ve got a lot of living to do!” she continues, “I’m ready!”

However, Elba says, rubbing the grey hairs in his scruffy beard: “I’ve spent a few of mine. You can tell.”

“But this particular life that I’m in at the moment is probably my best,” he added of newlywed life. “As they say, ‘I’m living my best life!'”

We Asked ‘Cats’ Cast: What If You Had 9 Lives?
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 16: (L-R) Jennifer Hudson, Francesca Hayward, Idris Elba, Rebel Wilson, and Jason Derulo attend The World Premiere of Cats, presented by Universal Pictures on December 16, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Universal Pictures)

And Elba has plans for living more of his best life educating others. Wait, does that mean he can be our professor?

He tells ESSENCE, “If I’m blessed with more years, I just want to be mature [and] get better. I want to educate. That’s something that’s big for us—share some knowledge.”

Sign us up for that class! And then check out the video above for more from the red carpet premiere of Cats.

TOPICS:  cats celebrity Danielle Young Entertainment eric underwood Essence News Francesca Hayward Idris Elba nile rodgers red carpet Sabrina Dhowre Elba Sabrina Elba