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‘SNL’ Announces Idris Elba Hosting For The First Time

By Lea van der Merwe
Published on: 06:13 PST, Feb 21, 2019

Actor Idris Elba has plenty of accomplishments to his name. He has fought Frost Giants as Heimdall in the Thor films, braved Apartheid as Nelson Mandela in Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom, fought against Starfleet Academy in Star Trek Beyond, helped Dory find her family in Finding Dory, and investigated countless grisly murders as the titular character in Luther.

He has also won a Golden Globe award, a number of BET awards, a Critics Choice Award, and two Screen Actors Guild awards, as well as being the most recent recipient of People’s Sexiest Man Alive title.

But one thing the accomplished actor has not done yet is host Saturday Night Live. According to Coming Soon, that will all change on March 9 when the actor will take up the role for the first time.

SNL confirmed on Wednesday that Elba would finally be honored with the opportunity to host when they announced the March lineup on Twitter. Elba will be accompanied by a debut musical performance on the show as well in the form of Khalid.

While Elba is on SNL, he will also be promoting his latest work in front of the camera: Netflix comedy series Turn Up Charlie, which debuts in the week following on March 15.

Elba is a co-creator on the show as well as the lead and will be paying a “struggling DJ and eternal bachelor turned manny.”

Many of Elba’s fans might not realize he is actually also a DJ who works in the music industry under the name DJ Big Driis.

“Actors doing music is corny, I know that’s what people think and I accept that. But music has always been a way for me to express myself,” Elba told The Voice in 2009.

His role in Turn Up Charlie is a break from his usual serious role, but he has been known on occasion to pull out all the stops for a comedic part. Appearing on SNL will also give him an opportunity to show off his funny side as he wows the New York audience with his wit and charm.

The 44th season of the show returns to television screens on March 2, with John Mulaney returning for a second stint as host after his “instantly iconic” debut as host in April 2018, Vulture reported.

He will be accompanied on set by country singer Thomas Rhett, who will also be making his SNL debut.

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