It has been revealed that Idris Elba will narrate the new Netflix documentary series Human Playground, which explores the emergence of some of the world’s most unique sports traditions, from age-old rituals to billion-dollar businesses. The British actor is also executive producing the show, which is set for release in late September.
Human Playground was directed by Tomas Kaan, who helmed David Attenborough’s Our Planet. In the documentary, Elba will walk us through the origins of some of the world’s strangest sports, including robot camel racing in the United Arab Emirates, Big Wave surfing in Nazaré Portugal and Eagle Hunting in Kyrgyzstan.
Morgan Knibbe and Willem Timmers are also credited on Human Playground as co-directors. Executive producer Rick Murray described the docu-series as a “perfect fit” for Elba. The team behind the programme, which has been under production for a couple of years, are naturally very excited to have Elba on board.
“We are delighted to have helped get the project off the ground, the team in Amsterdam are world-class, and we hope to work with them again in the not-too-distant future,” Murray told Deadline, discussing the team that helped make the upcoming Netflix series possible.
Finding his big break in the early 2000s with his intense portrayal of Stringer Bell on HBO’s seminal organised crime drama, The Wire, Elba has grown from strength to strength over the past two decades with a career-defining role in the BBC detective drama Luther. This role earned Elba three Emmy Award nominations and a Golden Globe Award win in 2012. these accolades helped launch the actor into a run of blockbusting movies, including Beasts of No Nation, The Losers, The Suicide Squad and Pacific Rim.
Most recently, Elba appeared in Three Thousand Years of Longing and fought off a crazed lion in Beast. For the latter, Elba revealed that his daughter Isan had auditioned to act opposite him but sadly didn’t make the cut this time.
Watch the official trailer for Human Playground below.
