Idris Elba's Favorite Late-Night Snack Is Simple—and Probably Not What You're Expecting

Justine Lee

Fri, July 18, 2025 at 7:20 PM UTC

2 min read

Idris Elba's favorite late-night snack is a teaspoon of high-quality honey, which he believes helps curb hunger pangs and promotes better sleep and metabolism.
Other celebrities like Timothy Olyphant and Keanu Reeves also swear by honey as a snack, with Olyphant drizzling it on ice cream and Reeves enjoying it with peanut butter in a sandwich.
Elba's daily food choices are unpretentious, with bananas for energy and occasional indulgence in a chocolate bar for childhood nostalgia.

Idris Elba's Favorite Late-Night Snack Is Simple—and Probably Not What You're Expecting originally appeared on Parade .

Idris Elba is known for his portrayal of incredibly cool and energetic characters in a slew of Hollywood movies and TV shows. From his roles on The Wire and Luther to his turn in various blockbuster movies, like The Suicide Squad , Fast and Furious and Sonic The Hedgehog , it's clear that he has some serious range. Elba is also a passionate musician and DJ, which gives him even more cool points.

Elba keeps us on our toes with his signature swagger and sense of mystery, so when it came to his food preferences, we knew better than to try and guess. Luckily, the internet uncovered his favorite late-night snack, and we were definitely surprised.

When it comes to celebrities and their favorite snacks , we've been surprised by how simple most of them are. Tom Cruise is big on popcorn, Dolly Parton hits up Taco Bell, while Martha Stewart loves an onion sandwich as a late-night snack. And for Elba? His favorite midnight bite is a spoonful of honey .

What is Idris Elba's Favorite Late-Night Snack?

In an interview with GQ , Elba shared that he typically avoids eating after 9 p.m., but if he gets hungry in the middle of the night, he opts for honey, specifically "a teaspoon of high-quality honey."

Honey is tasty and has a perfect dose of natural sweetness, but Elba told GQ that the sweetener also serves as a nourishing remedy that keeps him balanced. "[It] usually curbs any hunger pangs, and I'll sleep all through the night when I do that. Then, when I wake up in the morning, my metabolism really kicks in," Elba told the magazine. Why are we not surprised that even Elba's midnight snack has some solid logic and purpose behind it?

And Elba isn't the only celebrity who swears by honey. Fellow actors Timothy Olyphant and Keanu Reeves have shared their love for the sweet stuff, too. Olyphant mentioned that he likes to drizzle his ice cream with honey and Reeves told Stephen Colbert that his favorite sandwich combo is crunchy peanut butter and honey. Clearly, honey is an A-list-approved snack strategy.

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Elsewhere in the GQ interview, we found out that Elba's daily food choices are equally unpretentious. He said he tries to "avoid eating too much or snacking" but when he feels peckish, he reaches for a banana, "which is great for energy." And occasionally, his childhood nostalgia wins out with a chocolate bar, a treat he allows himself every now and then .

So if you're looking for a new late-night snack ritual that actually works—and doesn't require special ingredients, why not try a spoonful of honey before bed? If it's good enough for Idris Elba, it's good enough for us.

Idris Elba's Favorite Late-Night Snack Is Simple—and Probably Not What You're Expecting first appeared on Parade on Jul 18, 2025

This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 18, 2025, where it first appeared.

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What is Idris Elba's Favorite Late-Night Snack?