Michael Jordan shut down Idris Elba's request to play him in movie

For better or for worse, Michael Jordan has always done his own acting. That apparently still has not changed despite the best efforts of one award-wining actor.

Appearing this week on an episode of Complex’s “Sneaker Shopping,” actor Idris Elba revealed that he once approached Jordan about potentially portraying him in a movie, only to be turned down.

“I even said to [Jordan] one time, ‘I want to play you,'” said Elba. “He was like, ‘Hmmm, I’m not ready yet.’ That’s what he said. ‘I’m not ready yet.’ I was dead serious.

“In my head, playing Jordan wouldn’t be about the basketball player,” Elba added. “It was about the businessman. He is a very astute businessman, really smart … So that’s where I was hinting at. I was like, ‘I wanna play Jordan. I’m doing that.’ He was like, ‘Ah, I’m not ready for that story yet.'”

Elba would not be a bad choice to play Jordan. He has won multiple awards during his acting career (including Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards) and is not too far behind Jordan in age (49 to Jordan’s 59).

But we know that Jordan loves to control his own narrative and already had a 2020 documentary series where he was able to do just that in ESPN’s “The Last Dance.”