Idris Elba didn’t want his beloved Luther to be’sexualised’ by ardent fans, despite her confirmed heartthrob appearance on-screen.
In the film adaption Luther: The Fallen Sun, the 50-year-old actor reprises his role as the renegade detective opposite Andy Serkis (David Robey) and Cynthia Erivo (Odette Rain).
In the film, Idris Elba’s unpredictable character escapes from prison to track down a serial murderer terrorising London.
Despite the Beast actor being named The Sexiest Man Alive in 2018, Luther writer Neil Cross told Metro.co.uk exclusively why it was critical for the beloved DI to be “stripped of ego.”
‘Idris and I spoke about that a lot [not sexualising Luther] in the early days,’ he said.
‘It was very very important to me because there is in the world at large no screen presence like Idris Elba, kind of like a once in a generation, once in a lifetime screen presence.’
Neil also stated that he wanted viewers to focus on Luther’s “passion, intellect, and determination” rather than his physical attractiveness.
‘It was very important that we strip him of all vanity,’ he added.
‘I mean look at the car we gave him. The reason why I love that car so much isn’t because it’s a gag, not because it’s a reference to Columbo… it’s a car driven by a man who doesn’t give a s**t how he’s perceived by the world.
‘Luther doesn’t care and it doesn’t occur to him that he should.’
We met up with The Wire’s star on Wednesday’s red carpet premiere to put an age-old question to rest.
While fans may have imagined there was just one Luther cloak stashed away, Idris informed us that there are more… As a result, there is little risk of it getting stinky.
‘Nooo! You know what, it does get washed but there’s more than one in the wardrobe. So I dry clean one and then I wear the other one,’ he said.
‘People always say to me, “Does that thing stink?” It doesn’t smell I promise,’ he enthused.
Luther: The Fallen Sun is available in select cinemas and arrives on Netflix from March 10.
Source My Celebrity Life.