Beasts of No Nation cast Idris Elba.
Beasts of No Nation (film) . Shot in Ghana and starring Idris Elba , Abraham Attah , Ama K. Abebrese , Grace Nortey , David Dontoh , and Opeyemi Fagbohungbe , the film is based on the 2005 novel of the same name by Uzodinma Iweala -- the book itself being named after a Fela Kuti album . Idris Elba . Elba has appeared in films such as Ridley Scott 's American Gangster ( 2007 ) , Takers ( 2010 ) , Thor ( 2011 ) , Prometheus ( 2012 ) , Pacific Rim ( 2013 ) , Thor : The Dark World ( 2013 ) and Beasts of No Nation ( 2015 , for which he received BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actor ) , and Star Trek Beyond ( 2016 ) .