The Apple TV+ original thriller series Hijack raises the tension and the stakes by following the story in real time, as Sam Nelson (Idris Elba, who is also an executive producer) puts his negotiating skills to the test as he tries to keep himself and his fellow plane passengers alive until they can safely land. Over the course of the seven-hour flight from Dubai to London, Sam must identify the hijackers and execute a plan while also being ready for anything that changes the game, along the way.

During this 1-on-1 interview with Collider, Elba talked about doing action scenes when you’re playing a character that action doesn’t come naturally for, playing someone the audience can connect with, and how he’d like to see the series evolve for a possible second season. He also talked about his hope that there will be more Luther movies, how much he knows about his Extraction 2 character, and kicking Chris Hemsworth’s ass.

Collider: This series is a fun, intense and exciting ride. When you’re playing a character who’s not an action hero, but who’s trapped in a setting that puts him in the middle of the action, how does that affect the fight scenes and action sequences? And is there a fight scene that you’re most proud of because you feel it turned out badass, even if it was a pain to shoot?

IDRIS ELBA: That’s a good question. I’ve done a lot of action sequences with characters that can fight or that have a certain aggression or brawn, and my character wasn’t really cut out for that. Even though he’s a big guy like me, since it’s my body, he doesn’t have that natural instinct to just knock someone out, or whatever. And most people don’t, actually, whether they’re big, small or whatever. Not everybody knows how to fight. So, it was really refreshing to play and choreograph this fight sequence and the action with someone who was just living off of his instinct. That made this, for me, more satisfying. In one scene, he doesn’t know what to grab, and he grabs a tray and smacks someone in the face. That was so satisfying. Everybody would love to try that, one day.

Image via Apple TV+

He’s one of those characters where it feels like you could see the thought bubble above his head going, “Oh, God, do I really have to do this again”?

ELBA: Yeah, I’m glad that you said that because the whole construct of my character and the way we tell this story is to put the audience in the front seat and have them go, “What would I do?” There are lots of close-ups of Sam thinking, and that is for the audience to be like, “What are you gonna do, buddy? What are you gonna do? Do the right thing.”

If you were to continue this series and do another season, would your character have to be in another setting that people could come in and take control of, or would you want to evolve the character in some other way and put him in a very different scenario?

ELBA: I’d wanna put him in a different scenario. I’d wanna keep the perspective of the audience through his eyes. If Sam Nelson was in a restaurant ordering food, then the scenario would be, “Okay, you have two options, this food that’s gonna give you diarrhea, or this food that’s gonna put you to sleep. Choose.” That’s what I would wanna do. I wanna find a way to put the character in a situation that people can relate to.

So, it’s not the lesser of two evils, but just two evils.

ELBA: Yeah.

Image via Apple TV+

What feedback have you gotten on the Luther movie? Do you know if it did well enough to do another movie?

ELBA: Yeah, it did really well. Luther ended up being one of the top five most streamed films on Netflix, which is an incredible achievement, since it was the first film from the television show. I’m hoping to make another one. I love Luther. I love that character, and I love where I can possibly take him, as a story and as a character. So, yeah, keep your fingers crossed.

I saw some funny speculation recently that your character in Extraction 2 could really be Luther, after the end of the movie, now working jobs for some other person or group. Obviously, that’s just fan speculation, but do you know anything about who your character is in the Extraction world, who he works for, and how soon we might get to see him again?

ELBA: I know, and so do the Russo brothers. So, you’re gonna have to ask them.

Image via Apple TV+

Were you at all bummed that you didn’t get to kick Chris Hemsworth’s ass in the movie?

ELBA: No, because after we finished film, I took him training and [kicked his ass].

So, you’re satisfied with just doing it, in real life?

ELBA: Chris is gonna see this and be like, “Wow, when did that happen?”

Hijack is available to stream at Apple TV+.