Idris Elba Says His Grandfather Influenced His Latest Doc About WWII | THR News Video - video Dailymotion

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Idris Elba is putting a spotlight on WWII soldiers of color. Elba's latest project is National Geographic's documentary special 'Erased: WW2's Heroes of Color,' a four-part series which Elba serves as executive producer and narrator, unearthing the unsung stories of people of color who served during the 2nd World War. The series weaves a blend of historical dramatizations with curated archival footage and powerful accounts from the veterans' descendants.

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00:00The history we know about the Second World War is very skewed in one way,

00:04and we wanted to offer a different perspective.

00:06Idris Elba is putting a spotlight on World War II's soldiers of color.

00:10Elba's latest project is National Geographic's documentary special,

00:14Erased, World War II's Heroes of Color,

00:17a four-part series which Elba serves as an executive producer and narrator,

00:22unearthing the unsung stories of people of color who served during the Second World War.

00:26The series weaves a blend of historical dramatizations with curated archival footage

00:31and powerful accounts from the veterans' descendants.

00:34Ahead of the premiere, Elba, alongside director Cheyenne Brown,

00:37spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the immense contributions

00:40of those who fought for the Allied forces, but whose stories have largely gone untold.

00:46Why weren't they honored? Why weren't they at the 10-year anniversary, the 20-year anniversary?

00:51Why did it take 70 years for them to be honored?

00:54Elba's involvement in the project was partly influenced by his own grandfather,

00:58who served during World War II, but his time served, the star knows very little about.

01:03You mentioned that you were inspired to tell the story through your grandfather.

01:07My granddad was born and raised in Kansas City, from what we understand,

01:12ended up in the Second World War, did not go back to the States,

01:15and ended up in Africa where he had a family.

01:18And, you know, to this day, we don't have a single picture of him.

01:22And as we have been on this journey making this show, I've, you know, been piecing together that story.

01:29But Elba notes, while it was the driver behind the dock, it isn't the focus of it.

01:33It isn't about me, you know, and war isn't a thing to be glorified,

01:38but ultimately, you know, a history maketh man.

01:41You know, the history we know about the Second World War is very skewed in one way,

01:46and we wanted to offer a different perspective.

01:48Each episode focuses on different extraordinary heroes,

01:51from a 16-year-old New Yorker to an aristocrat from India.

01:55Elba shared one of the most interesting things he personally learned from the documentary.

01:59There was a sort of focus on Black and Brown people in the Army,

02:06and it was specifically to populate more Black and Brown people into the Army.

02:13As for Brown, the director helmed Episode 2,

02:16which puts the spotlight on the only all-Black combat unit to fight on the D-Day beaches,

02:21and spoke about the moving conversations she had when she met the descendants of the D-Day war heroes.

02:26They remember America in the 30s and the 40s,

02:31and hearing them talk about the Jim Crow era and, you know, have its segregation,

02:37and then also speak about how they met their husbands, it was really powerful.

02:42Stephen Woodson, it was the first time he went to Normandy.

02:46So we travelled with him from the States to France, and we were on the D-Day beaches.

02:52It was quite emotional as well, which, you know, is understandable,

02:56and I think it comes across, you know, a lot in the film.

02:59There's a lot of emotion.

03:00Erased World War II's Heroes of Colour premiered on National Geographic

03:04and is currently streaming on Disney Plus and Hulu.

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Idris Elba Says His Grandfather Influenced His Latest Doc About WWII | THR News Video

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