“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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00:00 I mean, I've talked to Idris about this and the fact is, this is almost his bond. It is his bond.
00:06 Hey, Josh Elliott from Narcity. Hi Andy, how are you?
00:22 Hey Josh, how are you doing man?
00:23 I'm good. It's good to see you in person. I feel like, you know,
00:26 we're so used to seeing you as Gollum or King Kong or Caesar and all these great roles, but
00:31 I've always been curious, like, is it a relief for you to play a role like this, where you can just
00:36 be you? You know, people have asked me this and I say, because I've never really drawn a distinction
00:45 between acting in a performance capture suit and live action in the more conventional sense.
00:51 For me, it's just, it's another role, you know, and a very interesting and a really dark role
00:56 happens to be this time around. But yeah, I know I am. So I don't, people, people say,
01:04 oh, it's great to see your face and finally see you. And it's like, well, the thing is,
01:09 you've seen me. It's just, I've been sort of deeply buried in another character. But so,
01:16 you know, it's interesting, the perception that people have.
01:19 Totally. And, you know, I'll admit, like, coming into this, I had never seen a Luthor show or
01:23 anything like that. So seeing this movie, it really struck me as like this amazing blend of,
01:29 like, James Bond and the Batman. And obviously you as the villain feel like a perfect blend of that.
01:35 What drew you to the role of David for this? And how did you put that character together?
01:39 Well, that's really incredible that you think of it like that. I mean, because I think you're
01:44 absolutely right. It is those things. But it's also in the series, which I did know of and was
01:51 a bit a fan of, you know, that it classically kind of relies on the villains being a normality to
01:59 them, having a mundanity to them almost. But also that it is, you know, emotionally truthful, dark
02:06 and there is a grit to it. So that combined with the elevated genre kind of, you know,
02:13 that you've just mentioned made it a very fertile ground, I think, for a character like David Robey
02:19 to exist in, particularly because his relationship is very much about about manipulation through
02:25 the Internet, through social media, through using the dark web, you know, and all the technology
02:30 that he is a master manipulator of. And so so so I mean, as a character, he is there is a
02:37 you know, he is a psychopath. There's no question he's a psychopath. He's a serial killer. But
02:43 he's also a product of a world that we have all bought into. And he has become an isolated,
02:50 lonely individual who who can't connect with the rest of humanity. And I think I think that was
02:56 what it was that was about the character that made me really want to play him was to examine that
03:02 and really look at how people are shamed, how people are isolated and desensitized because
03:10 of this big technology that we've all that we've just completely given up responsibility to and
03:16 that we allow to dominate our lives to a huge degree.
03:20 Jamie, I want to ask you, you know, so I'll confess this is my first experience with Luther.
03:32 I had a great time and I was really struck by just how subtle Idris is in the role. And I
03:39 really want to come to one moment in the movie where I think it's about the middle. He's giving
03:43 a mom some news she doesn't want to deal with. I mean, he kind of just sits there and lets her
03:47 process it and he doesn't jump in. What's it like to be able to trust an actor with that kind of
03:52 subtlety on screen? You know, I've got hairs on the back of my neck because you just mentioned
03:58 probably my favorite moment in the film. The thing about Idris is and Hattie, you know,
04:04 who played Corin in that scene, they're both incredibly schooled, brilliant actors. They're
04:13 both incredibly open. Idris knows that character better than I will ever know it. But he enters
04:19 into a space and he says, come and join me and we'll have a play. And the moments like that,
04:24 that little head shift that he does as he looks at her as he gives her time to process
04:30 was all Idris. I think working with actors who are as instinctively brilliant at that,
04:36 my greatest responsibility is just to give us make sure they've got a space where they feel safe
04:39 enough to do it. But you can only hope that you have an actor that is so instinctively brilliant,
04:46 you know, watching Idris enjoy that space and explore that space through that character
04:50 in that live way. That was take one that we used in the film. It was just extraordinary.
04:58 One of the things which Idris enjoys and gets satisfaction from in playing the character
05:05 is that he becomes a vector by which Idris is able to express a certain essential tenderness
05:13 that is true of him. So those moments of profound empathy and tenderness,
05:20 as well as being a function of an actor's kind of supreme skill and judgment, are also true
05:27 of who Idris is. So you get the conjunction of those two very special things.
05:32 You know, I think that's a really important point. I think those moments allow us to see
05:36 more of Idris than than the rest of Luther, maybe because obviously it won't surprise you to know
05:42 that then they're not the same person. And Idris has a kind of a particular joy and tenderness
05:48 as a person and how he literally he can spot someone's pain. You know, he enters into when
05:53 we're shooting, you know, as a producer, he took it very seriously. He'll look around the set.
05:58 And if somebody if the process is making anybody feel smaller, he doesn't like it. And he'll make
06:04 sure that everybody feels empowered. And I think, you know, that moment that you picked on there
06:10 says a lot about who Luther is, a lot about who Idris is, and also says a lot about Luther at
06:15 its best, I have to say. Well, and speaking of that big technology, I feel like the thing that
06:24 Idris especially can't seem to escape is there's always this talk about him being Bond and all
06:29 that, you know, after going through this experience working with him and seeing him in this role,
06:34 do you think he's got a great resume, but could this movie almost be his cover letter for a Bond
06:38 role? I mean, I've talked to Idris about this and that the fact is, this is almost is his Bond. It
06:44 is his Bond, whether or not, you know, in a way, it's the much grittier version of James. But you
06:51 know, the thing about this is it has real stakes and real consequence. And I think there's with
06:58 Bond, there's always that element of he's going to come through in the end, he's gonna, he's gonna
07:03 do it, you know, with this, it's always feel like it's knife edged as to whether he's gonna make it.
07:08 But I do, I do think, I mean, Idris could play Bond, but this is his, this is his own idiosyncratic
07:14 take, I think on it, you know. Well, Nanny, just to wrap up, you know, I gotta ask you,
07:19 you've added this to your infinity gauntlet of franchises. Is there another franchise that you
07:23 have left to do? Or do we continue the victory lap and maybe do something else like a little
07:29 bit of a different role? Oh, well, let me think I could reel them all off. You know, Mission
07:36 Impossible, Star Trek, you know, I mean, there are plenty out there. Lots of time left. Well,
07:44 thank you so much, Andy. I really appreciate your time. Thanks, dude. Take care. Thanks for
07:49 watching. If you enjoyed this video, please like and subscribe to our Narsity channel to see more
07:54 great content. Transcribed by https://otter.ai
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