He brought his mom as his date to the NAACP Awards in March, where he won outstanding actor in a drama series for the series’ final season. He beat his heroes Forest Whitaker, Jesse L. Martin, and his mentor, Idris Elba. During his acceptance speech, he shared that his mom flew 17 hours from Lagos and before she boarded said, “Damson, if I come to Los Angeles, you better win.” The speech went viral, making her “the most famous woman in Nigeria right now.” As for Elba? “He was trying to steal the trophy from me. He really is my big brother.”
Another viral moment was when Denzel Washington was asked about Idris on a red carpet. He replied: “I don’t know who that is.” Reflecting back, Idris laughs: “I had work to do!” They’ve since met at a basketball game. “I introduced myself very timidly and he just started tickling me. God willing, one day I will get to work with him.”
After meeting with Kosinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer, he learned he got the part while traveling. “I get a call from Joe like, ‘Hey, do you want to be a Formula 1 driver?’ I was like, ‘I’m in Turks and Caicos right now, but I can leave right now.’ Next thing you know, I was in London at Rockingham and in Silverstone training every day.”
Kosinski and Bruckheimer knew that Idris could act, but could he drive? “It was wet that day, I’ll never forget. I was like, Oh my gosh, please don’t crash. One, because you’ll probably die, but two, more importantly, you won’t get the part.”
Working with Kosinski was a dream come true. “He is a director’s director. He is the epitome of cinema in my opinion. The feeling I felt when I walked out of Top Gun was how I felt when I was a kid and I watched E.T. or Star Wars. Those movies are just defined by one thing: entertainment. Everyone, no matter what your background, could come and watch this film.… His process is amazing.”
As for Pitt? “Talk about a superstar. His humility is second to none. I don’t know if people know this, but he is really good behind that car. Really good. Too good almost. He makes me nervous how good he is.”