Terri (Taraji P. Henson) is a devoted wife and mother of two, living an ideal suburban life in Atlanta when Colin (Idris Elba), a charming but dangerous escaped convict, shows up at her door claiming car trouble. Terri offers her phone to help him but soon learns that no good deed goes unpunished as she finds herself fighting for survival when he invades her home and terrorizes her family.
The Source Magazine sat down with Idris Elba the star and producer of “No Good Deed”! Read our exclusive interview below:
It’s so incredible to be here with you today, Mr. Idris Elba – Golden Globe award winner and just an all-around talented actor and artist, how are you?
Idris: I’m good. I’m very good. Really happy to be here and happy to promote this film, if I’m honest, it’s one of the joys of my life. This is a film that we’re very close to, Taraji and I, and we’re just proud to just put it out there.
We’ve seen you do amazing work but this is the first time we’ve seen you like this. Tell us what that process was like for you? Playing a psychotic, crazy killer, that we loved to watch.
I: Yeah, it was actually an interesting process because as producers we were sort of looking at the script and how we could make the script better and deeper and one of the things that we paid attention to is the two characters, the two main characters. How do you humanize them? How do you make them relatable? Even though, some of the things they do are stupid and you’re like,” whoa, why would you do that?”
It’s scream out loud!
I: Yeah, it’s scream out loud, but at the same time, if you were facing that dilemma, what would you do, and that was something we wanted to sort of keep in tact. Especially with Colin’s character, he is an evil guy but at the same time you kinda go, well, I kinda could see where he made a mistake … He’s likeable, too. You want to believe that maybe he might turn the corner and we paid special attention to try and make that real for the audience … make him likable. The whole is he attractive? Is he nice? He is, but there’s something weird about him, but ok I’m just gonna keep going with this because you don’t seem like a threat and then it starts to unfold.
It’s like “What would you do if Colin were at your door”? Now, I’ve heard that you and Tarajii wanted to work together for a long time. What was it like working with her because she really, really goes in on this movie? It’s so physical and it’s like we’ve never seen her before, also. So, what was that process like working with her?
I: Yeah, I’ve been fan of Taraji for a long time and she’s definitely one of the most stellar actors that I’ve ever worked with and then when we got the chance to work with each other … she’s super competitive. You know, it was like “you’re Idris Elba, huh? Okay. Let me see what you got.”
We love that about her.
I: Yeah, I love that. So that was a great thing to build upon because we didn’t know each other very well and she is a great actress and only likes to work with good actors. So when we were in the room and in the space and we were talking about our roles. Man, we just got excited about our chemistry and how we could bring it. Cause she was like “I ain’t scared of you.” I’m like “Yes you are.” And we just love playing that and just keeping that bond going.
You’re also doing a lot of music and directing as well. You were an executive producer on “No Good Deed,” we also just saw you direct K. Michelle’s musical for VH1. So, what’s new with you and what’s next with you on the music scene?
Idris: You know in music, I’ve been spending time to hone my craft as a producer – not as an artist, but as a producer and when I made “Mandela,” I went back to South Africa post-“Mandela” because there’s a big music scene there and I made an album.
Fantastic film.
Idris: Thank you very much. Well I made an album about my journey as Mandela and I brought some South African artists and some English artists together and we made this collaboration album and that’s what’s coming up next. It’s called “Mi Mandela.” I’m literally finishing the mixing now and it’s gonna be my first studio album as a Producer. I’m very excited for that and I’m just gonna keep my music alive you know what I mean? And you know that I DJ. I play house music and … now I’m sort of in a lane where I’m playing more house music. I mean I’ve become a resident DJ again this summer … I’m loving that. It’s a really good outlet for me. It’s my reset button.
That’s awesome. Well, thank you so much for sitting down with The Source. We had you on the cover before (Idris: Yes you did!) and you’re welcome to come back to bring us more exclusives and congratulations on the film. We can’t wait to see it in theaters September 12.
Idris: Thank you, thank you. It’s great seeing you.
http://youtu.be/oUmA0zp8kKs
-Chasity Saunders
