“Luther: The Fallen Sun” star Andy Serkis compares Idris Elba to James Bond and explains why the new movie on Netflix is “grittier” than 007. The Gollum actor shares what draws him to genre roles like “Lord Of The Rings” and “Star Wars,” and opens up about the franchises he’d like to join in the future. “Luther” creator Neil Cross and “Fallen Sun” director Jamie Payne also open up to Narcity’s Josh Elliott about Elba’s most “brilliant” moment on set.
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TravelTranscript
00:00I mean, I've talked to Idris about this and that the fact is, this is almost is his bond.
00:05It is his bond.
00:09Hey, Josh Ali for Narsity.
00:20Hi, Andy.
00:21How are you?
00:22Hey, Josh.
00:23How you doing, man?
00:24I'm good.
00:25It's good to see you in person.
00:26We're so used to seeing you as Gollum or King Kong or Caesar and all these great roles.
00:31But I've always been curious, like, is it a relief for you to play a role like this
00:35for you can just be you?
00:38You know, I've people have asked me this and I say, because I've never really drawn a distinction
00:45between acting in a performance capture suit and live and live action in the more conventional
00:50sense.
00:51For me, it's just it's another role, you know, and a very interesting and a really dark role
00:56happens to be this time around.
00:59But but yeah, I know I am so I don't people people say, oh, it's great to see your face
01:05and finally see you.
01:07And it's like, well, the thing is, you've seen me.
01:10It's just I've been sort of deeply buried in another character.
01:15But so, you know, it's it's interesting, the perception that people have.
01:19Totally.
01:20And, you know, I'll admit, like coming into this, I had never seen a loser show or anything
01:24like that.
01:25But seeing this this movie, it really struck me as like this amazing blend of like James
01:29Bond and the Batman.
01:32And obviously, you as the villain feel like a perfect blend of that.
01:35What drew you to the role of David for this?
01:38And how did you put that character together?
01:40Well, that's really incredible that you think of it like that.
01:43I mean, because I think you're absolutely right.
01:45It is those things.
01:47But it's also in the series, which I did know of and was a fan of, you know, that it classic
01:55Lee kind of relies on on the villains being a normality to them, having a mundanity to
02:01them almost, but also that that it is, you know, emotionally truthful, dark and there
02:07is a grit to it.
02:08So that combined with the elevated genre kind of, you know, that you've just mentioned made
02:15it a very fertile ground, I think, for a character like David Robey to exist in, particularly
02:20because his relationship is very much about about manipulation through the Internet, through
02:26social media, through using the dark web, you know, and all the technology that he is
02:31a master manipulator of.
02:33And so.
02:34So.
02:35So, I mean, as a character, he is there is a you know, he is a psychopath.
02:40There's no question.
02:41He's a psychopath.
02:42He's a serial killer.
02:43But he's also a product of of a world that we have all bought into.
02:48And he has become an isolated, lonely individual who who can't connect with the rest of humanity.
02:54And I think I think that was what it was that was about the character that made me really
03:00want to play him was to examine that and really look at how people are shamed, how people
03:07are isolated and desensitized because of this big technology that we've all we've just completely
03:14given up responsibility to and that we allow to dominate our lives to a huge degree.
03:27Jamie, I want to ask you, you know, so I'll confess this is my first experience with Luther.
03:33I had a great time and I was really struck by just how subtle Idris is in the role.
03:39And I really want to come to one moment in the movie where I think it's about the middle.
03:43He's giving a mom some news she doesn't want to deal with.
03:45I mean, he kind of just sits there and lets her process it and he doesn't jump in.
03:49What's it like to be able to trust an actor with that kind of subtlety on screen?
03:54You know, I've got hairs on the back of my neck because you just mentioned probably my
03:59favorite moment in the film.
04:02The thing about Idris is and Hattie, you know, who played Corin in that scene.
04:09They're both incredibly schooled, brilliant actors.
04:13They're both incredibly open.
04:15Idris knows that character better than I will ever know it.
04:18But he enters into a space and he says, come and join me and we'll have a play.
04:23And the moments like that, that little head shift that he does as he looks at her as he
04:28gives her time to process was all Idris.
04:31I think working with actors who are as instinctively brilliant at that, my greatest responsibility
04:37is just to give us, make sure they've got a space where they feel safe enough to do
04:41it.
04:42But you can only hope that you have an actor that is so instinctively brilliant, you know,
04:47watching Idris enjoy that space and explore that space through that character in that
04:52live way.
04:53That was take one that we used in the film.
04:56It was just extraordinary.
04:58One of the things which Idris enjoys and gets satisfaction from in playing the character
05:06is that he becomes a vector by which Idris is able to express a certain essential tenderness
05:13that is true of him.
05:15So those moments of profound empathy and tenderness, as well as being a function of an actor's
05:23kind of supreme skill and judgment, are also true of who Idris is.
05:29So you get the conjunction of those two very special things.
05:32Do you know what?
05:33I think that's a really important point.
05:34I think those moments allow us to see more of Idris than the rest of Luthor may be, because
05:40obviously it won't surprise you to know that then they're not the same person and Idris
05:45has a kind of a particular joy and tenderness as a person and how he literally he can spot
05:51someone's pain.
05:52You know, he enters into when we're shooting, you know, as a producer, he took it very seriously.
05:56He'll look around the set.
05:58And if somebody if the process is making anybody feel smaller, he doesn't like it.
06:04And he'll make sure that everybody feels empowered.
06:06And I think that moment that you picked on there says a lot about who Luthor is, a lot
06:11about who Idris is, and also says a lot about Luthor at its best, I have to say.
06:22Well, and speaking of that big technology, I feel like the thing that Idris especially
06:25can't seem to escape is there's always this talk about him being Bond and all that.
06:30You know, after going through this experience working with him and seeing him in this role,
06:34do you think he's got a great resume, but could this movie almost be his cover letter
06:37for a Bond role?
06:38I mean, I've talked to Idris about this, and the fact is, this is almost is his Bond.
06:44It is his Bond, whether or not, you know, in a way, it's the much grittier version of
06:51James Bond.
06:52You know, the thing about this is it has real stakes and real consequence.
06:57I think with Bond, there's always that element of he's going to come through in the end.
07:01He's going to do it.
07:02You know, with this, it's always feel like it's knife-edged as to whether he's going
07:07to make it.
07:08But I do think, I mean, Idris could play Bond, but this is his own idiosyncratic take, I
07:15think, on it.
07:16Well, Andy, just to wrap up, you know, I got to ask you, you've added this to your infinity
07:20gauntlet of franchises.
07:22Is there another franchise that you have left to do, or do we continue the victory
07:27lap and maybe do something else like Lord of the Rings or something like that in a different
07:31role?
07:32Oh, well.
07:33Oh, let me think.
07:34I could reel them all off.
07:35You know, Mission Impossible, Star Trek, you know, I mean, there are plenty out there.
07:42Lots of time left.
07:44Well, thank you so much, Andy.
07:45I really appreciate your time.
07:46Thanks, dude.
07:47Take care.
07:48Thanks for watching.
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07:54great content.