Idris Elba Explains The Lure Of The Dark Tower
Stephen King's eight-book series The Dark Tower has legions of fans who are obsessed with the epic tale of gunslinger Roland Deschain.
The film has been in the works for more than a decade, and its path to the cinema has been rocky. The first hurdle came with the casting of Idris Elba in the lead role, which sparked a social media outcry that the character isn't black. King himself weighed into this debate. "Honestly, I didn't care what colour he was as long as he could command the screen, draw fast and shoot straight," the author said.
Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey in The Dark Tower
For his part, Elba was intrigued by playing a character from a King novel. "I was excited to sign on for the role because he does create complex, well-rounded characters with a lot of depth," the actor says. "And Roland Deschain in particular is a character that has a massive, massive journey throughout the book series. Yes, I want the fans to be satisfied by the character I portray, but the wonderful thing with being an actor in film is that I am able to interpret the character. And I hope the fans are proud of our interpretatiom.
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