When Lost was at its height, Idris Elba passed on the show in favor of a small and original IP. Lost follows a group of survivors from a plane crash as they navigate life on a seemingly deserted island and uncover numerous mysteries along the way. The show features several stars, including Matthew Fox (Party of Five), Evangeline Lilly (Ant-Man), Ian Somerhalder (The Vampire Diaries), and Michelle Rodriguez (Fast X).
In an interview with That Peter Crouch Podcast, Elba explained why he never ended up in the star-studded cast of Lost. Given the choice between Luther and Lost, Elba elected to return to the UK and create a franchise of his own. Lost continued on without him and continued to dominate the media landscape until and through its divisive ending. Check out his quote below, via Yahoo!:
“The woman that runs Apple TV+, she was the commissioner that brought me back to the UK to make Luther, she worked at the BBC at the time and she sent me a script. It was Luther. I remember, my career was fine, I’d done Stringer Bell but I was doing this, I wasn’t doing that. I remember reading this show, it was a six-part TV show on the BBC in England and everyone was like, ‘You sure you wanna go back home and do that?’ and I was like, ‘This is gonna be a life-changer for me, and it did.’ At the same time as Luther, I was offered a role in that show… uh, Lost. It was gonna be a season character and at the time Lost was the biggest show in the world, and I’m thinking, ‘Mmmm no I’m alright, I’m gonna go back to the UK where it’s gonna be a smaller audience but no-one’s seen this character before.'”
Why Luther Was The Right Choice For Idris Elba
While Lost was groundbreaking enough to launch several careers, Elba didn’t particularly need the boost. As he reflected, he was already a well-known actor by the time the Lost position became available, thanks to his role as Stringer Bell in The Wire. If he wanted to keep making a name for himself, rather than risk getting lost in Lost‘s mysteries and plots, Luther could give him a chance to stand out to a smaller audience.
Luther went on to be a massive success, proving that Elba’s high hopes in the show weren’t misplaced. The show received five series and recently led to the film Luther: The Fallen Sun, which was a hit on Netflix. Rather than having a mere one-season role on Lost, Elba placed himself right at the heart of a franchise of his own. Since it evolved into a success, Elba has gained some serious acclaim, which has even thrown his name into the mix to become the next James Bond — something he has already publicly turned down.
Refusing Lost also explains why Elba isn’t interested in James Bond. If he is more engaged by creating IPs of his own, it’s no wonder that building on the historic and high-pressure franchise isn’t anything he wants to deal with. Considering that passing on Lost didn’t hurt Elba’s career at all, sticking with Luther was the right idea. James Bond is just proof that he has certainly stuck to his guns ever since.
