Idris Elba feels 'lucky' about his career for this reason

Idris Elba plays several leading characters on-screen, which turned out to be a hit. His role as Detective John Luther in Luther and Stringer Bell in the critically acclaimed drama The Wire, for example.

“Leading characters often have a lot of real estate to hold up,” he tells Deadline, adding, “I’m lucky I’ve had these really big characters that audiences don’t mind watching for a long time."

However, in his latest show Hijack, in its second season, he portrays Sam Nelson, who has deep trauma from season one after he was caught in a hostage situation, which typically doesn't fit the previous characters the British star has played. "

"In this case, it’s very different from some other characters: He’s a broken guy," the actor shares as season two is around the corner of release.

Similarly, Jim Field Smith, the series director and co-creator, shares Idris's take on the Sam Nelson character in season two.

“Our whole guiding principle with Sam was that I wanted him to start Season 2 as a completely different character from the Sam Nelson you’ve left behind. In the very first frame when the camera resolves on him this season, you’re supposed to think, ‘What the hell’s happened to this guy?’”

Hijack season two will drop on Apple TV+ on Jan 14.