Idris Elba claims it ''meant so much'' to land the lead role in 'Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom'.

The 40-year-old actor plays Nelson Mandela in the upcoming biographical film and admits he was over the moon when he was chosen to represent the South African anti-apartheid icon because it was such a big opportunity to educate people on a ''legend''.

Speaking to Reuters UK, he said: ''It meant so much to me, it's such a massive opportunity to be part of a true legend's life, and more importantly, the film re-educates people on this legend.

''I never met Mr. Mandela because he was very ill, so our interpretation of him was without his personal influence. But the script is such a good script, and obviously it comes from his book, and the book speaks for itself.''

Idris - who is known for playing Heimdall in 'Thor' - claims he felt immense pressure when he was handed the part because he'd never done a biopic movie before but isn't concerned about people judging him on his acting skills.

He explained: ''This is the first real biopic I've done, and there's no real difference in the process, but it's Mr. Mandela. So that's huge, everyone knows who he is and what he sounds like, and I look nothing like him.

''If I get judged, which I will, about my performance or how I sound or how I look, I think people miss the point. The point is that this is called 'Long Walk to Freedom', this is the book about his life and it's his own words.''