Idris Elba tells untold stories of Black, Brown soldiers in 'Erased: WW2's Heroes of Color'

HOLLYWOOD -- Idris Elba has a strong connection to World War II. His grandfather fought in the war before relocating from Kansas City to West Africa. Stories like this intrigued the actor and producer to dig deeper and reveal the long-lost legacies of soldiers of color in a new project for National Geographic, "Erased: World War II'S Heroes of Color."

ABC7 Los Angeles anchor Leslie Sykes spoke to Elba about this project that is close to his heart, and asked why this project was so important to him.

"The telling of World War II stories has been told in many, many versions, good documentaries, great films. But there is a component of most of these films that have been erased, eradicated, and not told fully which is the involvement of Black and Brown people from all over the globe that were significantly important to WWII," said Elba. "For me it was really important to give an opportunity to picturize this history from people that the families, some of the testimony from the soldiers that were there."

One episode, focusing on D-day, is directed by Shianne Brown.

"I think it's such an iconic battle that was a seminal moment in the war and obviously we're coming to the 80th anniversary," said Brown. "What I learned is a lot of the Black soldiers weren't believed after they came back and said they were fighting in the war. I think it's important to shine the light on those Black and Brown stories which haven't been explored."



"I think what we're going to see is really moving, incredible accounts of some of the most incredible battles we've known and seen, but we just haven't seen it from this perspective," said Elba.

"Erased: WW2's Heroes of Color" premieres June 3 on National Geographic and streams the next day on Hulu.

The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of National Geographic, Hulu and this ABC station.