Guerilla casts Idris Elba as it’s lead. The Golden Globe-winning Luther and Pacific Rim star will portray the male half of a radical couple in the Showtime limited series inspired by historical events.
The role marks Elba’s return to the small screen, where he previously wowed audiences and critics with his performance as John Luther. Lately, the actor has been focusing on a successful transition to feature films, going from playing a supporting role in Marvel‘s Thor films as Heimdall to voicing the ferocious Shere Khan in The Jungle Book. In addition, he will soon be seen in Star Trek: Beyond and next year’s The Dark Tower.
Speaking about his involvement with Guerilla, Elba was excited about the prospect of working with John Ridley, the Academy Award-winning director of 12 Years A Slave who is set to write, direct and executive produce the show. Showering praise on Ridley’s previous work, the star said his take on the program is “nothing short of a masterclass in character building and story-telling.” Set in Britain in the 1970’s, the story Ridley will tell promises to be engaging:
Guerrilla is a love story set against the backdrop of one of the most politically explosive times in U.K. history. It tells the story of a politically active couple whose relationship and values are tested when they liberate a political prisoner and form a radical underground cell in 1970s London. Their ultimate target becomes the Black Power Desk, a true-life, secretive counter-intelligence unit within Special Branch dedicated to crushing all forms of black activism. Whilst the series is set against a background of social and political activism, at its heart Guerrilla is about a relationship under pressure, and the reality that for any couple there comes a point when the choices they make have real and lasting consequences.
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