Idris Elba on Real-Time TV Plane Thriller ‘Hijack’ and Reaching a Career Juncture Where He Can Show Vulnerability

The last couple of years alone have seen Idris Elba showcase a rather broad range. From gunslinging villains (Rufus Buck in The Harder They Fall) and beloved yet destructive TV detectives given a big-screen moment (Luther in Luther: The Fallen Sun), via wish-granting genies (The Djinn in Three Thousand Years of Longing) to returning Norse gods (Heimdall in Thor: Love and Thunder), animated video game characters (Knuckles in Sonic the Hedgehog 2) and a man who takes on a lion with his bare hands (Dr. Nate Samuels in Beast), it’s been a rather eclectic mix.

Hijack is — also — something altogether different.

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The seven-part series, which launches on Apple TV+ on Wednesday, June 28 and which Elba also exec produced via his Green Door production company (and the solitary projects from its now-ended deal with the streamer), sees him play Sam Nelson, a business negotiator on board a flight from Dubai to London in a bid to save his failing marriage.

As the title suggests, it’s not exactly a stress-free journey as a bunch of ruthless criminals soon takes control. But what could easily have been a testosterone-fueled Under Siege-style action-thriller becomes something different, with Nelson using his intelligence and communications skills to help relay information to authorities on the ground (led by Archie Panjabi and Max Beesley), while also trying to defuse the situation on the plane. There are fight sequences, but also a lot of secret codes being passed around the passengers and Nelson attempting to sneak his not-inconsiderable frame between cabins without the hijackers spotting him. Just to add to the tension, Hijack is played out in real-time (it’s almost exactly the same length as a seven-hour flight from Dubai to London).

According to Elba, this was one of the key attractions for him — the opportunity to do something different that played against the type of roles he’s had in the past.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in London ahead of Hijack‘s Tuesday world premiere, Elba discussed the joy of people not knowing what he might do next, getting back behind the camera for his second feature as director, Infernus (and the first time he’ll direct himself), and plans for another Luther movie. And yes, he also addressed James Bond (and how whatever he says about a character he’s “never played” ends up on Google Alerts).

Hijack feels like a unique TV project — real-time, almost entirely in one location. Have you done anything like it before?

No. And that was by design. I wanted to try something different. I wanted to try something that felt like instant love it or hate it. In The Wire and Luther, it’s kind of like a slow build into the character. With this guy, he’s in a situation… it’s called Hijack, and he’s right in there. And you’re thinking to yourself, what would I do if I was him? So I was really attracted to that. I want this to be a water cooler moment. I just wanted it to be fun like “did you see that shit? That shit was very well done.”

Did the unique nature of the project make it particularly interesting to shoot?

It felt a bit like theatre. The location didn’t move much, we were in that space and it was tiny. So it felt a bit like theatre, with 400 actors, and you got to know every single one of them. It was good, but very different. We shot as much as we could in sequence, for two reasons. One because it just felt right to not jump around, but also because we were still writing some of the later episodes right into the film process.

Were you involved in any of the writing? 

Not the actual writing, but in the concept stages, just sort of mapping and planning out the story. I was partly involved in that with my production company Green Door. We were all just like: What’s the best version of this story? It was called different things and at one stage it was called Kingdom, after the United Kingdom because it’s a flight from Dubai to London and there’s a microcosm of our society and the idea of, you know, working against tropes and different personality types.

At first, I think I naively thought you were going to punch your way out of it all, and it was going to be a lot more physical but was very pleasantly surprised when it was more than that. Was this something that made it more of an attractive prospect for you?

Totally. I sat there reading the script thinking I don’t want to play some geezer that’s gonna fight his way in and isn’t vulnerable, because we’re all fucking vulnerable. There’s a version of this that we’ve seen before where it’s like, [adopts American accent], “Don’t worry, I’ve got this.” I thought this would be better for me, at my juncture of my career. I guess you can sort of say my name and people will go, “Yeah, I don’t know what he’s gonna do next.” And I kind of like that. So it means I’m allowed to be vulnerable without people going, “That was weird for him, he’s usually the tough guy.”

Speaking of tough guys, there’s something absolutely terrifying about Neil Maskell in roles like this where is a hijacker. He did an incredibly brutal film a couple of years ago called Bull that was tough to watch in parts. Is he a lot more cuddly in real life? 

He’s a softie! But yeah, I hear where you’re coming from. His style, I wouldn’t say is method, but he’s in the moment. We’re in this real environment — like theatre, it’s very intense. And he’s right there and the passion and the vibrations you’re getting are like “oh my god, he really fucking hates me,” and then he’ll turn it off and start talking about his son.

Has making Hijack forced you to look around a little more often on flights to see what’s going on?

Totally. A lot more. I’m a lot more aware. Usually, when I’m flying, staff want to say hi and share information a bit more. And I had this thing on a flight to L.A. when a man passed and we had to deviate to Canada. It was horrible and people were in tears. The staff were gravitating towards me, and I was trying to be a confidant as much as I could and be accessible. When you’re a public figure, it’s like you’re a doctor. And oddly enough, my experience on the flight and understanding the flow of information, and how not to panic people… it was like being behind the curtain. I actually said that I’d been making a show on a plane and asked if there was anything I could do to help. Because I guess I understood a little what they were going through. We knew we couldn’t tell everyone that he had died, and had to say someone was sick. And I knew that the plane was not going to take off again because a coroner was going to have to come on.

Away from Hijack, at the recent Annecy festival there were clips of the R-rated animation Fixed. How was it to voice a badass, yet castrated, dog? 

It was very, what can I say, freeing. But it’s definitely not PC.

Sausage Party-style?

Properly. We might all get canceled. But it was a lot of fun to make, and I hope people love it because it’s my sense of humor.

Your next gig as director has just been announced — Infernus. Your directorial debut Yardie was I think 2018. Have you been holding back? What’s been the process to find your next project behind the camera? 

I probably would have gotten to it a lot sooner had the whole world not fallen off its axis a little bit. And like my acting career, I didn’t want to do the same thing I’ve already done and try to do something different. But I really like this story, and I think we’ve got the opportunity to make a good action thriller genre piece. It’s my first time directing and starring and that’s daunting, so I guess I sort of was running towards it and running away from it at the same time, just knowing how hard of a job it is. As a leading actor in a film you are in demand. As a director, you’re in demand all the time. And so the prep for it for me is massively important.

And it’s with Millennium…

Hats off to Millennium. They are known for a certain type of film. And this story and film is a slight deviation. In a way, it still ticks all their boxes of genre, but they’ve given me an opportunity as an actor that they love to direct it my way. And they’ve been massively supportive and have allowed me to pad the team out in the way that I want to.

You said a while ago that you wanted to make a music album based on your various screen characters. How’s that going? 

I haven’t done much on that music project. I deviated a little to another. But that character album I am going to do, I just need to gather a couple more characters that are memorable, that people can say “I imagined him listening to or sounding like….” And I’ve got a small handful of characters that evoke that sort of emotion.

What genre of music would be attached to Sam in Hijack?

It does seem that Sam could be a memorable character, because you live with him, you’re really stuck in there with him. I find him a little bit more sad. Sad and emotional. So I can see acoustically electronic sounds around the song. Something a little bit honest.

This is obviously a subject and character that has followed you for many, many years, so sorry to bring it up. The next James Bond is likely to be someone not on any lists of favorites and somebody not expected. Is there anyone you’ve seen who you thought could play the role?

I’m gonna say no, just because every time I answer anything about Bond, I end up on Google Alerts. So I need to stay away from it. I get intrigued answering questions about that character, because I’ve never played him!

Has the chat about Bond ever been a burden?

No, I wouldn’t say it’s a burden. It’s a massive compliment. But it does become news, whatever I say. And I have done it a few times and thought “why did I do that” and suddenly it’s “IDRIS THINKS…”

Do you think being linked for so long to arguably the biggest film role on the planet has had a negative or positive impact on your career?

I don’t really know. I think that I have a fan base, but people who don’t know me got to know me a bit more through Bond. Those who are non-believers might be like “Idris, who?” and then they start googling me. So it’s an interesting thing for my career in the sense that it makes people think about what makes a Bond, so maybe they can or can’t see it. But I don’t think it’s changed my career.

What’s next after this?

Infernus is next – we’re shooting in October. Actually, I want to direct a bit more. And we’re in the midst of looking at Luther and another installment.

Another Luther film?

Yeah. It’s very early days. We know what we want to do and know what the opportunity is. Honestly, you talk about Bond but John is my answer to that. He’s a mechanism and a character that you can follow through some crazy escapism. John is it. I think he’s very relatable and sometimes you want a good guy to go out to the bad guys and plumb them. And John’s not here to negotiate.

I saw you recently in Netflix’s Extraction 2. It was just a small role but one that came with a heavy indication that there’s much more to come. 

Yeah, there’s a heavy indication. It’s done incredibly well. I did it as a favor – Chris [Hemsworth] is my mate, and I love working with him. So I might be in it. I don’t know. Nothing’s official. The Extraction movies are pure action and escapism and I can imagine the relationship we set up in the second movie being expanded.

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