The 41-year-old’s nod for his role as Mandela in Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom comes after he failed to be recognised in the Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations, which were announced on Wednesday. He has also been nominated for Best Actor in a mini-series or TV movie for Luther.
Idris will go up against Chiwetel Ejiofor, who also has two nominations – one for his role in 12 Years A Slave and the other for Dancing On The Edge.
In the Best Actor in a Motion Picture character the pair will fight off competition from Tom Hanks (Captain Phillips), Matthew McConaughey (The Dallas Buyers Club), Robert Redford(All Is Lost).
Kerry Washington also came up big. The "Scandal" star, who plays Washington, D.C. fixer Olivia Pope, was nominated for Best Actress in a TV Drama Series. This is Washington's first first Golden Globe nomination.
See the full list inside...
Best Motion Picture – Drama "12 Years A Slave" "Captain Phillips" "Gravity" "Philomena" "Rush"
Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy "American Hustle" "Her" "Inside Llewyn Davis" "Nebraska" "The Wolf Of Wall Street"
Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama Chiwetel Ejiofor, "12 Years A Slave" Idris Elba, "Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom" Tom Hanks, "Captain Phillips" Matthew McConaughey, "Dallas Buyers Club" Robert Redford, "All Is Lost"
Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Christian Bale, "American Hustle" Bruce Dern, "Nebraska" Leonardo DiCaprio, "The Wolf of Wall Street" Oscar Isaac, "Inside Llewyn Davis" Joaquin Phoenix, "Her"
Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama Cate Blanchett, "Blue Jasmine" Sandra Bullock, "Gravity" Judi Dench, "Philomena" Emma Thompson, "Saving Mr. Banks" Kate Winslet, "Labor Day"
Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Amy Adams, "American Hustle" Julie Delpy, "Before Midnight" Greta Gerwig, "Frances Ha" Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "Enough Said" Meryl Streep, "August: Osage County"
Best Supporting Actor Barkhad Abdi, "Captain Phillips" Daniel Bruhl, "Rush" Bradley Cooper, "American Hustle" Michael Fassbender, "12 Years A Slave" Jared Leto, "Dallas Buyers Club"
Best Supporting Actress Sally Hawkins, "Blue Jasmine" Jennifer Lawrence, "American Hustle" Lupita Nyong'o, "12 Years A Slave" Julia Roberts, "August: Osage County" June Squibb, "Nebraska"
Best Director Alfonso Cuaron, "Gravity" Paul Greengrass, "Captain Phillips" Steve McQueen, "12 Years A Slave" Alexander Payne, "Nebraska" David O. Russell, "American Hustle"
Best Screenplay Spike Jonze, "Her" Bob Nelson, "Nebraska" Jeff Pope and Steve Coogan, "Philomena" John Ridley, "12 Years A Slave" Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell, "American Hustle"
Best Original Score "All Is Lost" "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom" "Gravity" "The Book Thief" "12 Years A Slave"
Best Original Song "Atlas," Coldplay ("The Hunger Games: Catching Fire") "Let It Go," Idina Menzel ("Frozen") "Ordinary Love," U2 ("Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom") "Please Mr. Kennedy," Oscar Isaac, Justin Timberlake and Adam Driver ("Inside Llewyn Davis") "Sweet Than Fiction," Taylor Swift ("One Chance")
Best Foreign Language Film"Blue is the Warmest Color" "The Great Beauty" "The Hunt" "The Past" "The Wind Rises"
Best Animated Feature Film "The Croods" "Despicable Me 2" "Frozen"
Best Drama Series "Breaking Bad""Downton Abbey" "The Good Wife" "House of Cards" "Masters of Sex"
Best Actor in a Television Drama Series Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad" Liev Schreiber, "Ray Donovan" Michael Sheen, "Masters of Sex" Kevin Spacey, "House of Cards" James Spader, "The Black List"
Best Actress in a Television Drama Series Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife" Tatiana Maslany, "Orphan Black" Taylor Schilling, "Orange is the New Black" Kerry Washington, "Scandal" Robin Wright, "House of Cards"
Best Comedy Series "The Big Bang Theory" "Brooklyn 99" "Girls""Modern Family" "Parks and Recreation"
Best Actor in a Television Comedy Series Jason Bateman, "Arrested Development" Don Cheadle, "House of Lies" Michael J. Fox, "The Michael J. Fox Show" Jim Parsons, "The Big Bang Theory" Andy Samberg, "Brooklyn 99"
Best Actress in a Television Comedy Series Zooey Deschanel, "New Girl" Lena Dunham, "Girls" Edie Falco, "Nurse Jackie" Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "Veep" Amy Poehler, "Parks and Recreation"
Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for Television"American Horror Story: Coven" "Behind the Candelabra" "Dancing on the Edge" "Top of the Lake" "White Queen"
Best Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for Television Matt Damon, "Behind the Candelabra" Michael Douglas, "Behind the Candelabra" Chiwetel Ejiofor, "Dancing on the Edge" Idris Elba, "Luther" Al Pacino, "Phil Spector"
Best Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for Television Helena Bonham Carter, "Burton and Taylor" Rebecca Ferguson, "The White Queen" Jessica Lange, "American Horror Story: Coven" Helen Mirren, "Phil Spector" Elisabeth Moss, "Top of the Lake"
Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for Television Josh Charles, "The Good Wife" Rob Lowe, "Behind the Candelabra" Aaron Paul, "Breaking Bad" Corey Stoll, "House of Cards" Jon Voight, "Ray Donovan"
Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for Television Jacqueline Bisset, "Dancing on the Edge" Janet McTeer, "White Queen" Hayden Panettiere, "Nashville" Monica Potter, "Parenthood" Sofia Vergara, "Modern Family"
