Idris Elba wanted to "play against type" with Hijack character
Apple TV+ thriller series Hijack has Idris Elba playing against his typical type of role as smooth negotiator Sam Nelson.
With its first two episodes set to premiere on the streaming platform later this week, the Luther actor took part in a press conference, where the subject of preconceptions cropped up.
"My size or shape and all my life, 'Oh, you're a big lad' and I've taken on roles that feed into that a little bit," Elba admitted to Digital Spy and other press.
Related: Idris Elba faces plane attack in first trailer for new Apple drama Hijack
"And this particular time, I was really interested in playing against that, even though Sam is what he is, he isn't always the hero in that sense. He's more cerebral.
"He's quite vulnerable in the sense that he's got lots going on internally with his family. And I really was interested in that, so it played against type," he reiterated.
You still probably wouldn't have a scrap with him, though.
Elsewhere in the Hijack cast is Archana Panjabi (The Good Wife), Neil Maskell (Utopia) and Max Beesley (The Midwich Cuckoos), with the does-what-it-says-on-the-tin plot chronicling the violent takeover of an aeroplane on its route from Dubai to London.
Related: Extraction 2 director teases possible Idris Elba spinoff
Meanwhile, Elba also recalled getting roughed up in the tight confines of the aircraft set.
"Me sneaking on a plane is like, bro, what are you doing? We can see you. So it meant that I had to either get lower or we had to figure out another way. It really adds to the drama and the reality of this thing," he said.
"The fight sequences were certainly hard to shoot. They were choreographed within the space. If we hurt ourselves, we just took a breather and carried on.
"We didn't try and change the choreography not to hurt ourselves, because in this instance, the fight sequences were based on what we would do rather than 'this is a fight sequence.'"
Hijack premieres on Apple TV+ this Friday (June 28).
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