Original-Cin Q&A: Luther's Nemesis, Andy Serkis on Idris Elba and playing minus mo-cap
By Bonnie Laufer
Following a very successful run on Netflix as a TV series, Luther is back! Idris Elba who played the veteran grizzled detective has returned, but this time in a gritty Netflix film, Luther: The Fallen Sun.
The action centers around a tech-savvy serial killer named David Robie (played by Andy Serkis) who terrorizes London while disgraced detective John Luther sits behind bars. Haunted by his failure to capture the cyber psychopath who now taunts him, Luther decides to break out and finish the job by any means necessary.
Our Bonnie Laufer spoke with Andy Serkis about playing a vile villain and going toe-to-toe with Idris Elba.
Andy Serkis plays cyber-psychopath David Robie in Luther: The Fallen Sun
Luther:The Fallen Sun starts streaming on Netflix on March 10th.
Andy Serkis will be at Toronto Comicon on Saturday, March 18.
CLICK HERE to watch Bonnie’s interview with director Jamie Payne and writer Neil Cross
ORIGINAL-CIN: Andy, you are so good in this movie, that you really scared the crap out of me. To play such a psychopath must have been fun, but how did you find your way in to justify his actions?
ANDY SERKIS: I nearly didn't do it for that reason. And then I thought, “Maybe I can justify him in some strange way. Let's have a debate about who this person is and what he is.”
That was what made me take the role finally, because there's something about David Robie, which is he's not entirely responsible for the monster.
The monster is the world that we've all bought into which is the Internet, which for me was the interesting thing. He doesn't exist without it, and he preys on people through it.
Being able to watch through devices that we have in our homes, we allow it to take our identities and we exist in a world of deep fakes and the dark web.
All of this stuff just happens around us, and he capitalizes on it by watching people in their private moments. And actually, he then becomes that as a result, in a very sick, twisted evil way.
O-C: When you get a script these days and you open it up and see no motion capture, is it a breath of fresh air for you?
SERKIS: You know, not really, to be absolutely honest, because it's always about the role.
I'll never forget the moment I read the script, the first script for Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and I literally read it and I was in bits after I read it. I couldn’t control my emotions. I thought this was the most incredible role, and then I'd forgotten it was an ape.
So, it's all about the power of the character and the story and who you're going to be working with. Whether it somehow has something to say, if there's something important or relevant.
And that's what appealed to me about this film. At the end of the day it's entertainment. It's an entertaining big blockbuster movie with great big set pieces and the rest of it. But actually what underpins it is real emotions, real characters that there are real stakes in it.
O-C: Had you been a fan of the Luther series? Going toe-to-toe with Idris Elba must have been a little intimidating?
SERKIS: Oh, yeah! I loved the series. So, I was thrilled when I was approached to be in the film.
Idris is a formidable actor, a great actor in this role, particularly. I think he's so well known for this role, he's played John Luther for a fifth of his life. So, being with someone who's that much in command of the character was really incredible.
The scene when they finally come together and face off was exhilarating, but also very interesting.
I knew that matching him physically in terms of fighting, I had to find a fighting style that was more for the character of David Robie. It had to be effective, dispassionate nothing to do with the amount of brawn or muscle, but to do with causing maximum damage with the least amount of movement with a blade that was as sharp as anything.
O-C: We don't often get to see you clean shaven when we see you on screen. Did you enjoy that?
SERKIS: I loved it. I didn't give much joy to my partner, Lorraine Ashbourne though. For a long period of time, she couldn't look me in the face. So that was not a good move from a marital perspective!