Hijack follows a passenger plane over the course of a seven-hour flight from Dubai to London after it is hijacked. Sam Nelson offers his skills as a corporate negotiator to try and find a peaceful end to the hijacking while also attempting to figure out what is going on. As authorities struggle to find answers on the ground, Sam and the other passengers attempt to survive long enough to take back control of the plane from the hijackers and get home to their loved ones.
Hijack was created by George Kay and Jim Field Smith. Idris Elba stars in and serves as executive producer of Hijack. The cast also includes Archie Panjabi, Christine Adams, Max Beesley, Eve Myles, Neil Maskell, Kate Phillips, and Jasper Britton.
Screen Rant spoke with Idris Elba about Apple TV+’s Hijack. He discussed the action sequences and the challenges of filming on an actual plane. Elba also explained what drew him to this project as a producer and why it was important for him to bring vulnerability to the role of Same Nelson.
Idris Elba on Hijack
Screen Rant: I loved Hijack! I was on the edge of my seat the entire time.
Idris Elba: I love that. Did you have your seatbelt on, though? That’s the most important thing.
What did you want to bring to the character of Sam Nelson that wasn’t necessarily on the page?
Idris Elba: Vulnerability, vulnerability. On the page was this is a smart guy, he is desperate. He is going to use his skills to put people up against each other in the wrong way, but hopefully with the right outcome. I wanted to bring for fans this sort of scared hero. This is a guy that actually he’s not built for this and he surprises himself. I think his failures, as a father and a husband are massively amplified in his journey here. I wanted the audience, I hope the audience kind of get the sense that wow, I guess he sacrifice a little bit of himself his selfishness to be selfless, in order to save this situation. Did I come across do you think for you?
Yes, for sure. I was very, very impressed with your performance, especially because given the situation he’s in, you have to do such a nuanced performance, because he is trying to keep everything under wraps. What were the challenges with that of trying to both perform big and small at the same time?
Idris Elba: I think its biggest challenge is continuity. Just understanding where you are. Even though it’s a six hour flight, that’s a long period of time anyway, but we shot it over five months, roughly. Just understanding where I was from one scene to another, emotionally, what I had said, and obviously, the sort of the breakdown of the situation. So you start sort of intact, and just purposely going where you’re going, by the end of it, you’re a shell of a man, a shell of a human being. This thing is just devastating towards you. The continuity of it is the most difficult thing.
You definitely pulled it off. I thought you did a great job with that. One of my other favorite parts of the show was the close-quarter combat of the fight scenes on the plane. What was that like with the training and how it was shot to pull off?
Idris Elba: Yeah, it was, weirdly enough, we didn’t over rehearse it. We had the natural constraint of being in a real plane with a crew and not much space to move and fly walls. We didn’t fly walls, as in take walls out and stuff, we just tried to get in the angles where we could. It was really well constructed and choreographed, but it wasn’t overly choreographed. The directors wanted us to take the moment and the natural reaction of what you would do, and apply that to the fights. So what you got was this sort of weird, desperate fight of humans and what they might do as opposed to well choreographed punches and elbows and knees.
Wow, I can’t believe you guys shot that in an actual plane. That’s insane! That’s so cool. When you were crafting Sam Nelson, were there any other characters from media or even past characters that you’ve played that you look to for inspiration?
Idris Elba: Well, oddly enough Stringer Bell was a character that was quite heady, quiet thought provocative. Just sort of like, getting people to see things from different perspectives. I didn’t get influence from him, but he’s one of the smartest characters, one of the most intelligent characters I’ve played. John Luthor on the other hand is sort of like, “What? Let’s get in there, knock him out.” I tried to avoid, I had to pull John away. I was like, “John, no, no, John, stay over there. I’m gonna go to Stringer for this one. Maybe a bit of Turnip Charlie, just because he likes music, too.”
What drew you to Hijack both as an actor and a producer?
Idris Elba: As a producer, it was wanting to put something up that is binge worthy. I guess that’s the trend now is like, “Did you binge it? Yes!” But something that was relatable. Something that felt familiar. We’ve all been on a flight and it’s that sort of what would you do kind of thing. I wanted something to be sort of the water cooler moment. As an actor, I wanted to again, play this vulnerable character. A character that wasn’t there to just put his brawn, but someone that actually is peeling the onion back on his personality in order to get the best outcome. Not afraid to say, I’m scared.
I love that. Well, you definitely succeeded. I watched the whole show in a day.
Idris Elba: Good job! Binging! Love it.
What’s something you learn from your experience on Hijack that you hope to take into future projects?
Idris Elba: The directing team on this project were phenomenal with problem solving, because we shot on a real plane and the space to just do whatever you want wasn’t there. So, you have to be innovative, efficient, and patient. As someone that wants to direct a lot more I really learned how all of those things that you need to be to sort of pull off really good work. You really do have to be patient and you really do have to be innovative. If you’ve got no space for this shot, what are you going to do? How do you think about how to do it differently? So, yeah, I learned quite a bit. I really, really loved the team.
About Hijack
When a plane from Dubai to London is hijacked Sam Nelson, a business negotiator with a knack for getting what he wants, steps up to try and find a way out of this. OVer the course of the seven-hour flight authorities scramble looking for answers on the ground while Sam and the other passengers do everything they can to survive as they try to find a way to take control back of the plane.
The first 2 episodes of Hijack are available on Apple+ now.