Directing was nerve-wrecking experience: Idris Elba

Los Angeles : Actor Idris Elba says directing his first movie "Yardie" was a "nerve-wrecking" experience.

"'Yardie' is a small project. It's not designed to be a big money-making film. Of course, this is a business and I want to be proud of it. I think there's a misconception that the higher you get, the less the success matters. That's not true," Elba told Irish Times newspaper.

"Are you kidding me? I've directed this thing. I've conjured it and to watch it go out into the public domain is great. I mean, it's nerve-wrecking. But I can cover up my nerves by just ploughing on," he added.

"Yardie" is based on the 1992 novel of the same name by Victor Headley, which tells the story of a young Jamaican who is sent to London to facilitate a drug deal.

Elba has been determined to avoid glamourising violence in the new movie, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

He said: "There's a lot of violent energy in the book that I was nervous about portraying on screen because of the type of violence it is.

"I had to ask, 'What am I saying about this? What am I saying about this culture?' The term 'yardie' is a derogatory term in the first place. So the energy I wanted was cultural energy. I wanted to feel like I've just gone to Jamaica. I wanted to I feel like I'm in the 1980s."