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Mandela actor talks about 'tragic' secret

Los Angeles  - Idris Elba was devastated when he discovered his ex-girlfriend's child wasn't his.

The Luther actor admits the moment a paternity test confirmed his US-based ex - whom he dated for several years - had been lying to him about fathering the son he had always longed for was the most "tragic" time of his life.

He told GQ magazine: "It wasn't immediately obvious - well, it was, because he didn't look anything like me. But it wasn't immediately obvious what had gone down. The celebration of having a son - from a man's perspective, it's massive.

"To be given that and then have it taken away so harshly was like taking a full-on punch in the face. Pow!"

The British hunk isn't embarrassed about admitted he was duped, but has now moved on and won't make the same mistake again.

Moving on

Idris said: "You know, the truth is, like, even admitting it, I'll probably get laughed at for the rest of my life. But it is just tragic, and it happened.

"But I wasn't knocked out. I stood right the fuck back up, and I ain't aiming to take another punch in the face ever again ... It happened to me. I moved on."

The 41-year-old star believes the heart-wrenching incident was a life lesson from karma because of his bad boy past.

Idris added: "I've not been an angel in my life, either - do you know what I'm saying? To a certain extent, what goes around comes around. But for me in the future, I'm about being comfortable. That's it.

"I was running with cats. I mean, I was DJing, but I was also pushing bags of weed; I was doing my work. I had to. I know that sounds corny, but this is the truth."

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