'Luther: The Fallen Sun' Director Revealed Idris Elba's Most 'Brilliant' Moment In The Film
"It was just extraordinary."
Idris Elba as John Luther in "Luther: The Fallen Sun" on Netflix.
Idris Elba has been playing DCI John Luther for well over a decade, and it's that experience that helped him wow director Jamie Payne while they were shooting the new Netflix movie Luther: The Fallen Sun.
The film is set after the original BBC Luther series, and it sees Luther going rogue to catch a blackmailing serial killer played by Andy Serkis.
Payne and Luther creator Neil Cross recently sat down with Narcity to talk about the new film, and they were both simply in awe of Elba over one scene in particular.
That scene comes around the midpoint of the film, when Elba's vigilante detective is sharing some bad news with a grieving mother. The mom (played by Hattie Morahan) initially refuses to believe his news, but Luther simply stays silent and watches her as she works through the news. He doesn't say a word, but he does tilt his head at one point and that's all it takes to push the mom into realizing he's right.
Payne says that was "probably my favourite moment in the film," because it shows just how good Elba is as an actor.
"Idris knows that character better than I will ever know it," Payne said. "But he enters into a space and he says, 'Come and join me and we'll have a play.' And the moments like that, that little head shift that he does as he looks at her, as he gives her time to process, was all Idris."
Payne, who previously worked with Elba while directing a few episodes of the Luther TV series, says his "greatest responsibility" is just to make space for actors who are that "instinctively brilliant."
"That was take one that we used in the film," he said. "It was just extraordinary."
Neil Cross, who created the character and wrote the movie, says Elba enjoys playing Luther because it lets him "express a certain essential tenderness" that's core to who Elba is as a person.
"Those moments allow us to see more of Idris than the rest of Luther," added Payne. "That moment (...) says a lot about who Luther is, a lot about who Idris is and also says a lot about Luther at its best."
Luther: The Fallen Sun is available now on Netflix, and you can find Elba's most brilliant scene at about 1 hour and 12 minutes into the film.
The flick also stars Andy Serkis and Cynthia Erivo.