Idris Elba may have featured in several movies involving violence and guns, but a real-life encounter left him thinking after a man who thought the British actor was trying to hit on his girlfriend threatened him with a gun.

In an interview with The Daily Mail, The Harder They Fall actor said the altercation happened in the United States, adding that the encounter nearly cost him his life.

“I nearly lost my f***ing life, after attempting to stop a man threatening his girlfriend outside a club,” the 50-year-old said. “A guy (was) whaling on his missus, screaming in her face, ‘I’ll f***ing kill you,’ and so on. I come round and I go ‘Look how beautiful she is. Why would you talk to this beautiful princess like that?’”

Things, however, went south afterward as Elba said the man “pulled out a gun, stuck it right in my face, and goes, ‘You talking about my girl?”’

“He thought I was trying to hit on her. I remember thinking, “Don’t play negotiations like that… Consequences, man,”’ he added.

Though Elba has had a stellar career in Hollywood, he initially had to do some unconventional things to finance his acting dream after moving to the United States. The Luther star in an interview on Sirius XM’s The Jess Cagle Show revealed selling weed was one of his “odd jobs” during that period, Face2Face Africa previously reported. He also said veteran comedian Dave Chappelle was one of his clients.

“I went to a performing arts college and did two years of everything –– scene painting, a little ballet, a little contemporary dance,” Elba recalled. “I came out and basically went straight into work.”

The actor also recalled his first few years in the United States were tough. “It just all fell flat on its face very quickly for about four years,” he recalled. “In that time period, I did a lot of things that I’m not proud of. But I did a lot of the things.”

The Suicide Squad actor then went ahead to reveal that he “used to sell weed” though “it wasn’t [legal] back then.” “I did that for a little bit just to pay the way,” he added.

Elba also said he took up jobs as a DJ and a doorman at a comedy club “which is fascinating now.” “When I meet the comedians you kind of remember the cool English guy with the funny accent and the little hair,” he added.

“Dave Chappelle remembers me ’cause he used to buy weed from me,” the 50-year-old revealed. “Anyway, moving on. But yeah, I did all kinds of things, to be honest.”