Here are some photos of Idris Elba and Naomie Harris at last night’s London premiere/royal screening of Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, the film based on Mandela’s memoir of his early years. The stars and royals walked the red carpet a good hour before the news of Mandela’s death broke through the international press. According to some of the royal beat reporters who were in the screening (or waiting outside), the news of Mandela’s passing was withheld until the movie was over, or at least that’s what I heard.

I’ve enjoyed covering Idris and Naomie’s promotional tours on behalf of this film because both have been extremely respectful of Mandela and his legacy. You can just tell that Idris was and is so incredibly honored to be playing Mandela and for his portrait of the icon to be accepted by Mandela himself and those who knew Mandela best. The story Idris has been telling recently is this: when presented with a photo of Idris, in character on the set, Nelson Mandela thought he was being shown a photo of himself. Idris loves that story.

After the royal premiere, Idris issued a statement on Mandela’s passing, saying: “What an honor it was to step into the shoes of Nelson Mandela and portray a man who defied odds, broke down barriers, and championed human rights before the eyes of the world. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.” Harvey Weinstein (who produced the film) also made a statement – you can read it here.

Superficial stuff: I think this is my favorite dress that Naomie has worn thus far! The dress is McQueen and it is GORGEOUS. Also: Twitter was blowing up last night with people talking about how Idris’s Oscar chances have gone up now. STOP. Don’t turn Mandela’s passing into an Oscar campaign.

Photos courtesy of WENN.