Idris Elba teases future career plans as he reveals he wants to retire from acting

After more than 30 years on our screens, acting icon Idris Elba has hinted that he may be ready to step out of the spotlight and retire.

Whether he’s solving crimes as Luther, battling comic book villains in the Marvel Cinematic Universe or being tipped to play the next James Bond, it’s safe to say that Elba is a man in demand.

Yet despite his continued success, the 53-year-old Golden Globe winner has admitted that it may be time to branch out into new things and go out on a high.

While appearing on stage for a Q&A at the Red Sea International Film Festival on Wednesday, Elba gave audiences a glimpse of where he sees himself in the future – and it isn’t necessarily what you might expect.

“I'm hoping that my fan base as an actor isn't mad at me, but eventually I want to transfer to be a director fully,” he explained while attending the Saudi-based film festival.

“I've been acting for a long time. I love it still, but I think directing allows me to flex slightly different muscles and just be a part of the set in a different way. I really enjoy it.”

Shifting to work behind the camera instead of in front of it isn’t that big a stretch in Hollywood, with plenty of successful actors having swapped the silver screen for a more hands-on production role.

Elba has teased his potential retirement with a very different career path (Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for ABA)

But directing isn’t the only career plan Elba went on to share, as he also confessed he is considering returning to education to brush up on his knowledge to better interact with world leaders and politicians.

“I've found myself feeling like an imposter in the political arena. I've found myself in arenas with heads of state and ministers talking about things that are way above my pay grade,” he admitted.

Yet before anyone gets their hopes up for a potential run as the UK’s next prime minister, Elba was quick to point out that he had no intention of pursuing a political career.

"I don't want to be a politician,” he assured fans. “But I think there's something quite appealing about educating myself to step into those arenas with more experience of how to make change.

“As an actor, you get offered these incredible opportunities to sit on a stage or meet a head of state. I often feel like I am just living off my instinct rather than my knowledge.”

Discussing what he’d like to study in particular, Elba added: “There is a possibility that I may go to school and just study human science, not political science, because I think humans respond to humans regardless of whether it's politics or sports. It's about humans.”

He also expressed a desire to return to education and study (Michael Loccisano/WireImage)

"I'd like to maybe study that so that I can be more effective when it comes to some of the philanthropy work I've been doing and some of the activism work.”

Throughout his career so far, Elba has supported numerous causes that are close to his heart, including a UK-wide campaign to tackle knife crime in young people, a global campaign to encourage diversity in the arts, and a campaign advocating for food security and sustainable agriculture in developing nations.

Although Elba has made his hopes for the future crystal clear, fans needn’t worry about him retiring in the immediate future, as the star still has numerous projects in the works, including Sonic the Hedgehog 4 and Masters of the Universe.

It is understood that a second Luther film has also been greenlit, which will be a sequel to Luther: The Fallen Sun released two years ago.