When Idris Elba takes on a new role — whether it’s a fictional role like Stringer Bell in ‘The Wire’ or historically like Nelson Mandela in ‘Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom’ — he usually has a measure of reality on which he can base its action.
That wasn’t the case with his latest character, a surly red cartoon echidna named Knuckles.
As Elba explained in a video interview on Tuesday, “I’ve never met short, fuzzy guys with big fists. I’m sorry, that’s not my experience. Maybe you do, but not me.”
To a generation of gamers, Knuckles is best known as the rival to Sonic the Hedgehog, the fast-paced star of the long-running Sega franchise.
The hit 2020 film based on the game stars Ben Schwartz as Sonic and Jim Carrey as his human nemesis, Dr. Robotnik, successfully translated the video game series into a movie franchise that mixed live action with animation.
That’s partly because Elba, 49, is a devoted fan of video games, and partly because he (as the author of this article) is the father of a 7-year-old son, and he was eager to make some movies they could. share as a family.
As Elba explained, “You and I remember those first early games and now we’re here — our sons say, ‘Wow, I can see ‘Sonic 2’ with my dad.” That is special.”
(Still, when I mentioned that my son and I have also bonded over video games, Elba warned: “Does he like Minecraft and Roblox? Be careful. Beware. You could lose your child.”)
Elba went on to talk about his history as a gamer and the many sources of inspiration for Knuckles, including the actor’s own parents. These are edited excerpts from that conversation.
Were you a gamer before making this movie?
One hundred percent. I literally have my Switch in my bag. When I started I had a Commodore 64 [a 1980s-era home computer]† Dude, that’s how far back it goes for me. And when I could afford one, I had a Sega Genesis. And I’ve had pretty much every console since. I’m a grown man now, but I still play FIFA and racing games.
I also started on a Commodore 64. It had a reputation for having software that was incredibly easy to piracy.
Well, it’s funny you say that. I remember you could take a blank tape and dub a game on it. And you had to take the tabs off the cassette so you couldn’t record over them. [Exaggeratedly serious voice] But of course all my games were authorized purchases, I bought them all.
How did the role of Knuckles first come to you?
I’ve done voices in animation and I like doing things for a younger audience. But when my agent called with this, he couldn’t even finish his sentence. I was like, yes, absolutely.
You have a whole body of work that your 7-year-old son cannot yet see. Was it important that you did something you could share with him?
[Laughs] There are many things that my child cannot see until he is an adult, and then he can judge me. My daughter is 20 and she has lived with me and done work like ‘Finding Dory’ before. So it’s a very satisfying feeling for my son to see me doing something too.
What did you and the director Jeff Fowler discuss about Knuckles during your first meeting?
We tried out some voices to find out what it might sound like. He looks quite menacing – [exaggeratedly flexes arms] rarrrr† I actually wanted to try playing it with a squeaky voice. I thought that might be funny. But they didn’t think that was funny and that idea was immediately brushed off the table. [Laughs] But we tried different voices, cadences, accents. Knuckles is not a great talker, but when he does speak he is very blunt.
You recently made the western “The Harder They Fall.” Was a villain like Rufus Buck still in your head when you were picking out Knuckles?
Not “The Harder They Fall”, but my character in the Marvel world, in the “Thor” movies, Heimdall, there is a sense of symmetry between those two voices. Look, I have a deep voice and I can just use my voice as it is. I didn’t want to sound too much like Heimdall. But probably, yes, they sound exactly the same. [Laughs]
It felt like you had a specific idea of where Knuckles came from and what you wanted him to sound like. How would you explain it?
The first thing we noticed was that he comes from an ancient world – he is a warrior of his tribe and English is not their first language. He doesn’t have the same sense of humor as Sonic. He is very dry and level-headed, and he uses English to get his point across and move on. He has no time for niceties. We used that build as a way to start developing how it sounds.
In real life, have you come across people who are very focused and intense about their goals, but maybe need more help in personal situations or don’t quite understand sarcasm?
I work in an industry where a lot of instructions are passed left and right – do this, do that – and often the efficient people are the ones who say, Hey, let’s just do this. My parents are West African – they moved from Freetown, Sierra Leone, to London in the early 1970’s. So if English isn’t your first language and the culture is different – the English sense of humor, it goes over a lot of people – I’ve witnessed it.
Growing up in London, did you feel that the culture and customs came to you more organically than to your parents?
I was born there, so I didn’t recognize that until I was old enough to understand that English culture was not their culture. I remember feeling that. My mother would say, “At home in Africa we do things like this.” And I would never dare say it, but I always thought: we are not in Africa – we are in England. That was the beginning of my understanding of that culture clash. But I’ve been to Africa a few times and I remember going to Sierra Leone and recognizing all these cultural things that I’d seen all my life, but didn’t know where it came from. And there it was, in the origins of my parents. It was fascinating.
Do you prefer a voice-only role, like Knuckles, over your other previous performances that involved motion capture?
Not necessary. Motion capture is such a fascinating art and discipline in itself. In this one it would be no benefit to have one of my features for Knuckles. It wouldn’t make sense.
So you’re not necessarily soured by it after your “Cats” experience?
Thank you for jumping from hedgehogs to cats. I see what you did. From a performance perspective, being a cat is an incredible experience. That’s something I’ve been through and never have to do again. That box is checked.
Paramount has been candid that: they want to do even more with Knuckles, including another “Sonic” movie and his own TV series. Was that part of the profession for you?
It is now. Honestly, when I got it I didn’t even know that would be on the table. I thought I was only making one movie. But now it’s great that I can probably play more Knuckles and maybe even play in his own world.
There’s another movie franchise that people would love to see you participate in, which we’re all eagerly anticipating. Is it still a possibility for you?
[Silence]
Do you know which one I mean? The spy with the gun?
I’m not sure what you’re talking about.
He has a famous code name with numbers –
Does he have numbers? Knuckles! Knuckles has numbers. No weapons.
Is it safe to say we won’t be breaking any James Bond news in a conversation about Sonic the Hedgehog?
nooooooooo† New. I’m sorry to disappoint.
Aside from that, would it surprise you if, many years from now, the roles you are most known for are Stringer Bell, Nelson Mandela, and Knuckles, for example?
I think for any actor the dream is to be able to play different roles and not be pigeonholed, and I feel like I’ve been lucky to have that as a career. But it’s interesting. I was on a radio show and they said: [booming radio announcer voice] “He played Luther. He did ‘Beasts of No Nation’. And now: He’s Knuckles.” It’s like, uh, maybe you could say he played a seal in “Finding Dory” and a buffalo in “Zootopia”, he played a cat. And now he’s knuckles. That lineup seems a bit more appropriate. Getting from Nelson Mandela to Knuckles is a bit of a reach.