2007 has been a great year for Idris Elba and Columbus Short. Since he left his role as Stringer Bell from HBO's critically acclaimed original series 'The Wire', Elba has been getting calls and scripts that landed him lead roles in 'The Gospel' for Rob Hardy and the HBO film 'Sometimes in April'. This year alone, Elba has been seen in no less than five films with roles in 'The Reaping', '28 Weeks Later', "Tyler Perry's Daddy Little Girls', 'American Gangster', and his most current film, 'This Christmas'. While Columbus Short made a splash earlier this year as the outspoken frat boy who could dance in 'Stomp The Yard.

Coming up for Elba next year are 'The No.1 Detective Agency' with Jill Scott, a remake of the horror film 'Prom Night', Guy Ritchie's RockNRolla, and 'The Human Contract', which is written and directed by Jada Pinkett-Smith, while Short has 'Whiteout' with Kate Beckinsale.

In 'This Christmas', Elba and Short play brothers Quentin and Claude Whitfield. Quentin's a musician who comes home after four years, while Cluade is an active duty Marine who arrives with some unexpected news as the rest family (Delroy Lindo, Loretta Devine, Regina King, Sharon Leal, Mekhi Phifer, Columbus Short, Chris Brown, Laz Alonzo, Lauren London, Keith Robinson, David Banner, Ricky Harris, and Jessica Strous) meets up for Christmas. As the siblings come home for the first time in years with plenty of baggage and as the Christmas tree is trimmed and lights are hung, secrets are revealed and the Whitfields joins together to discover the true meaning of family.

What is it from this character that you played that you can take away with?

Idris Elba: Actually, Quentin stuck with me for a while because of the music element to the character. The fact that he was a traveling man and the fact that he is so committed to his music that he won't see his family and whatnot, I took that away because I have aspirations in music and it does take a lot of time and focus and energy to get it right. So I took that away with me from that character. Of course, just the experience of working with that cast was like...I'm spoiled. It was so good and a great experience.

Do you play the sax or was that someone playing it on-screen?

IE: No, I don't play the sax. I had a few lessons beforehand but it's very tough to pull it off for the film.

What did you want to add to your character?

Columbus Short: My character was a little challenging to attack because when you have a character that has so little and to make it have some layer such simplicity like Christian Bale did in '3:10 to Yuma', and he brought such layer to that character when the film had a simple story, I wanted to do something similar. I'm not saying that I was trying to bring in some deep thing to the film but he was Marine, so he had to present some sort of toughness to the character. Every character that I play I give that character full body function from head to toe. I think it comes from my choreography background or whatever. With the characters that I play, each of them walks different, sit different and I just embodied that and my family comes from a military background, so I really tap into what I knew from them.

Within the film, Quentin, being the oldest, doesn't have a liking towards Joe, who's his mom's current boyfriend, yet he was away for so long. Why do you think your character has this anger towards the man who keeps his mom happy?

IE: His resentment towards Joe is more about his longing to see his dad and have his dad take his rightful place in the household. Joe, as far as he's concerned, is a barrier between that happening. He's having a conversation with his mom and he's trying to remind her that his daddy was a good man and 'Why are you putting this man in front of him?' With the whole Joe thing, he's buried how hurt he is about his father not being there.

Did you see character having anger issues?

CS: If your father left, you will feel angry and every single member of this family had anger in them. The one that didn't have the most anger was Chris because Baby was the one that missed all that. There's also a baby in the family that's closes to all but missed the drama-drama, and I think all of us still harbored some of that. Everybody ran away. Idris ran away to follow the music, Sharon's character ran away to New York, my character went to the Marines, and Regina's character ran away to marry this man. To come back, you're dealing with people who haven't dealt with their issues, and now as adults, they are all coming out. That's what makes the story so real. I got goose bumps watching the movie.

With each film that you do, you learn something different from each director. What did you learn from Preston Whitmore?

IE: Having written the screenplay as well as direct the film, Preston has a really good handle on how it should be done. He was a little precious with the words but he trusted the actors to do our jobs. I was impressed with the fact that he had written this really wonderful script and that's admirable. Not many people can do that.

Do you think your fans will get upset with your character married to a white girl?

CS: I'm sure they will, but I talked to Preston (Whitmore) and Will Packer and I think it was done tastefully and it worked for the story and drove my character storyline. Those were things I thought about before I took the role and it's sad that I had to think about it. I don't think about color lines, but I know that the masses do. If you have to ask the question, then I'm sure it's on the minds of others. Am I going to lose my fan base? Why should I lose a fan base because my character is with a white person?

IE: I don't think it was issue of Columbus losing a fan base because of that storyline. I think it was issue of whether or not the audience will recognize the storyline as something real. I think everyone knows someone in a mixed relationship and how do we do it. I tell you how we do it. We politely smile and let it be. Like in the film, if mama says it okay, then the law is written.

On top of the work you've done this year, you have a slew of films coming out next year. Let's start of with 'The No. 1 Detective Agency'? What role do you play there?

IE: I went to Africa to film that. Jill Scott is the lead in the film. Anthony Minghella is the director and it was a good treat. I play someone shady, this African businessman that is in the middle of one of the storylines that Jill Scott's character is trying to figure out. She plays an African detective from a small village. It looks great. I've seen the pictures and it looks fantastic and Jill Scott does her thing.

Did you see her in Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?

IE: Yes. I went and saw that. I definitely went to support that and I had a fun time watching that. I'm a big fan of Tasha Smith who played my wife in 'Daddy's Little Girls'. She's great and fantastic in the movie and hats off for Tyler for trying to tackle a real subject that translate to everybody.

There's a also the remake of 'Prom Night'. What will you add to it that's different from the original?

IE: I haven't seen it yet but the way we did it, it's a clever thriller. It does have its slasher element to it because it's a horror film, but it really has slow-burner thriller moments. The actors are very good. I think it will be a Prom Night for the younger generation and they are going to love that film.

What's your role in Guy Ritchie's RockNRolla film?

IE: I play this character who is... myself and Gerard Butler of '300' and we're partners and we are in the middle of this moneymaking scheme in London which involves real estate and a bunch of gangs and the money goes missing and it starts to circle around. It's a good script and very funny and I was back home in London doing it and speaking my own accent.

How good is your accent? Is it a challenge not speaking your native tongue?

IE: No, if I have to do an American accent, I work hard towards it. It has to be right and it has to be real. I'm very fortunate to be allowed to work, so if I'm going to an accent, I have to do it right.

I also see that you will be starring in 'The Human Contract', which will be directed by Jada Pinkett-Smith. What's the story about?

IE: I can't say too much about it, but it is very good and Jada has also written it. Overbrook Entertainment is one of the producers of the film.

What else is down the road for you?

CS: I'm doing 'Whiteout' with Kate Beckinsale and Gabriel Macht and Kate's a U.S Marshall and I'm a Coast guard and I find a murdered body and it's the first murdered body in Antarctica and we have four days to figure it before whiteout comes for six months in Antarctica.

Where did you shoot the film? How was working with Kate?

CS: We shot it in Canada and Kate's like my best friend now. We hang out every week. She's like the first relationship post-movie that has stuck. I'm doing 'Quarantine', which is a remake of a Spanish horror film called REC, and it's about a camera operator, a journalist, a fireman and a cop and they get trapped in this building that has a deadly virus inside. It's me, Jay Hernandez, Jennifer Carpenter, and Steve Harris. It's going to be a nice cast. After that there's 'Armored', which has me and Matt Dilllon and I play a rookie truck driver who gets coerced by Dillon to steal $42 million dollar on a drive but ends up backing out and they go out looking to kill me because they don't know if I will talk or not.

IE: Well, I'm in negotiations for two other films. One is a film called 'Obsession', which is a twist on the 'Fatal Attraction' story and I might be doing this heist movie called 'Bone Deep'. It's a big heist film with lots of action. With the strike happening, everything is up in the air.

Have you ever been approached to use any of your music for films?

IE: Absolutely. I sung a song that will be on the 'Prom Night' soundtrack. It's called 'This is what you let me know'. It's a hip hop song. I have a virtual artist, a cartoon character called Mr. Meinnit that's singing the song and I'm really excited. As I move forward, with most of my films , I'm going to try to get on the soundtrack if not executive produce the soundtrack myself.

Do you have any favorite soundtracks?

IE: 'Love Jones' soundtrack is fantastic. The song that Lauren Hill sang on it is crazy! The soundtrack era has taken a beating. No one is doing that well, but I could reinvent now. With my background as a DJ, I have a good handle on the climate. As a DJ, I have to read an audience as soon as they walk.

Why should anyone see 'This Christmas'?

IE: Because they are no corny moments. The acting is really good. There isn't a moment where we are ashamed of ourselves. You'll have a good time watching this movie and you can relate.