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One actor has been in 3 of the biggest movies this year and you probably didn't even realize it

Kirsten Acuna   

One actor has been in 3 of the biggest movies this year and you probably didn't even realize it
Latest2 min read

Sure, Disney may be dominating the box office this year with four of the highest-grossing movies of the year so far, but there's also one actor who has been in three of those films.

You may not have noticed it though because he's been disguised on screen as a tiger, a buffalo, and even an adorable sea lion.

If you haven't guessed who we're talking about yet, it's none other than Idris Elba.

idris elba

Michael Buckner/Getty Images

The "Luthor" actor has starred in Disney's "The Jungle Book" as the villainous Shere Khan, "Zootopia" as Police Chief Bogo, and "Finding Dory" as a sea lion named Fluke.

shere khan idris elba

Disney

Elba with his character Shere Khan in "The Jungle Book."

zootopia

YouTube/Walt Disney Animation Studios

Police Chief Bogo in "Zootopia."

fluke rudder finding dory

Disney

Fluke in "Finding Dory."

Though it's not one of the top 10 grossing movies of the year, Elba also appeared as the alien Krall in this summer's "Star Trek Beyond."

krall star trek beyond

Paramount Pictures

Idris Elba has said he's a pretty big "Star Trek" fan.

Together, the films have grossed over $3.2 billion worldwide at the box office.

Why has Elba done so many animated movies? It seems the father of two has taken on most of the Disney roles for his kids, Winston and Isan.

In a featurette released by Disney, Elba talks about the excitement of having both of his children seeing him play Shere Khan on screen in "The Jungle Book."

"I think the most exciting thing about being a part of this project was that both my daughter and my son were going to get to see a classic with their dad's voice in a central position. That was like, 'Yeahhhh!'"

In another interview for Disney, Elba said he worked on "Zootopia" because it's a comedy and he doesn't get to work on many of those. "Finding Dory" had the actor reteam with Dominic West, his costar from HBO's "The Wire."

idris elba movies 2016

Disney, Paramount Pictures, Dave Allocca/Starpix

Idris Elba side by side with the characters he has played this year.

Here's to Elba - one of the most versatile actors in Hollywood.

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