Home is…
Atlanta, Georgia, but I come over to London a lot. My parents live in East Ham.

Where do you stay when you're here?
If I can't get a room at my parents', I stay at the Soho Hotel. It has an honesty bar, which I love.

Have you been away recently?
A couple of months ago I flew to Miami for a few days at the Fontainebleau Tower. Sinatra once stayed there. It's ideal for a quick getaway. I also took my seven-year-old daughter to Florida at half term. I think we did about 19,000 roller coasters in three days. Apart from that, I haven't taken a holiday in years.

What advice would you give to a tourist?
Get yourself an Oyster card and a good raincoat and don't miss out East London. It's where it's at.

What are your secret London addresses?
Patel Newsagents on Barking Road in East Ham keeps me stocked up with Murray Mints. The Rock and Sole Plaice in Covent Garden does proper fish and chips. I get my sneakers, or trainers I should say, from Size? in Carnaby Street which has the most exclusive brands. The Elbow Room in Islington is great to play pool on a Friday evening. Obalende Suya on Kingsland Road in Dalston is the best Nigerian restaurant in London. You've got to try their red pepper soup. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

What's the best meal you've ever had in London?
Casaba leaf lamb curry with rice cooked by my mum. It's a rich and spicy cross between Indian and African cooking.

What is your earliest London memory?
Playing on the playground slide in Queensbridge Primary School in Hackney, when I was about five. I loved that place.

What would be on your tombstone?
This train carries no wrongdoers'. It's a line from This Train' by a reggae roots band called Culture. I have it tattooed on my arm. It's a great lyric.

What are you most afraid of?
Rusty nails. When I was a kid I got cut by one. It was actually in the playground at Queensbridge Primary. It was a bad cut close to the artery on my wrist. Ever since then I can't even look at rusty nails.

What is your guilty pleasure?
Jack Daniel's and Coke with a slice of lime and ice.

What would you do as Mayor for the day?
Introduce a bikini and beachwear day so that everyone has to come into work wearing their swimsuit. I think it would lighten the mood in
the workplace, don't you?

What's your philosophy?
Stay curious.

What animal would you most like to be?
A lion. Beautiful, majestic, family-oriented and ferocious. You don't f*** with a lion.

What was the last album you downloaded?
The Minstrel Show by Little Brother, a mix-tape by old-school hip-hop producer 9th Wonder.
It's awesome.

What would you save from a fire?
My laptop. It's got my life's work on it. My writing, my songs, pictures, everything.

What are you up to at the moment?
Lying on a huge sofa in Soho House talking to you… I'm going to be in Scotland for a while filming a psychological thriller called Legacy. I've already started working on my fake Scottish accent.

Who are your heroes?
My two grandfathers, Moses and Jewel. They died before I was born but they were both amazing. Their stories and their achievements guide me spiritually. They were real men. They weren't afraid of rusty nails.

What do you like wearing?
All 24 of my American Apparel white T-shirts.

What's your favourite London pub?
The Duke's Head in East Ham. It's got a good vibe and a few pool tables.

Have you ever stolen anything?
I think I might have stolen a couple of 2p Refreshers from Patel's back in the day. I have made up for it since, though.

Idris Elba played Baltimore drug baron Stringer Bell in The Wire. As a teenager, a £1,500 Prince's Trust grant got him into the National Youth Music Theatre. Twenty years on, he's been named anti-crime ambassador for the charity.