Usually, when a man is on the cover of Maxim, there’s a model on his arm. But most of those men aren’t Idris Elba. The actor became the first man to cover the magazine without a woman next to him.
Elba is on the cover of the September issue of Maxim, which focuses on male style.
It’s a classy image that you would expect from other magazines, but this appears to be part of Maxim’s ongoing rebranding effort. As Yahoo Style notes, the magazine is now lead by editor-in-chief Kate Lanphear, who previously worked at T: The New York Times Style Magazine. Since taking over, the magazine has rejected its sleazy past and gone for a more artistic style.
Elba is best known for his acting roles, from The Wire to Luther on television and in Thor and Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom on the big screen. He’s currently working on Star Trek Beyond and will next be seen in Netflix’s Beasts of No Nation.
But he also loves driving. In May, he broke the U.K. land speed record in a Bentley, reaching 180.391 mph. He broke a record that stood for 88 years.
cover from Maxim