Idris Elba Explained Why John Luther Wore the Same Clothes All the Time in ‘Luther’
Actor Idris Elba added more variety to his filmography when he was cast as the tormented detective John Luther in the TV series Luther. Everything about Elba’s character was thoroughly planned and crafted, including his sense of fashion.
Why John Luther’s clothes were important in ‘Luther’ according to Idris Elba
A lot of thought went into Luther’s wardrobe in the titular show. Elba is often seen in the BBC series wearing a brown unassuming trench coat, which has become a staple of the character. It was a design that Elba first came up for the character when he began to envision Luther in his head.
“It started with a silhouette of what we wanted Luther to look like,” Elba told GQ not too long ago. “We knew he wasn’t a suit guy, so the coat just felt natural. Detectives have iconic coats like Columbo or Inspector Gadget and I thought it was something we could reinvent a little bit. I felt from the script that Luther was like a character from Gotham City so we were going for that sort of sensibility.”
Speaking with Groucho Reviews, The Wire alum once again touched on the importance of Luther’s wardrobe throughout the series. He likened the detective’s style to a superhero costume.
“The meetings that you have with the costume designer are just as important as the meetings you have with the director and the writer,” Elba said. “Because you are putting this character’s aesthetics together. And it’s important; it’s very important to me. And in Luther, for example, we did not change—Luther doesn’t change his clothes. And that was a design, specifically, so that this character had a—it’s almost like a hero feel to him, you know. Or the anti-hero feel, whatever you want. But he looks the same in every single episode. That’s ‘cause he has no change in clothes.”
Idris Elba was given the least sexiest car the showrunner can think of for ‘Luther’
John Luther’s car might even be more modest than his clothes. Throughout the series, Elba drives a beaten-up Volvo with a pale blue color. Luther’s iconic ride was the brainchild of showrunner Neil Cross.
“ The Volvo is inspired from a line in a Dudley Moore film where he plays an advertising executive who has to be honest. In the movie he does an ad for Volvo where he says ‘Volvo – it’s boxy but it’s safe’. That always struck a chord with me. I thought it was important after we cast Idris that the character just have no vanity,” Cross said. “In the very first draft, Luther didn’t drive at all but he had to have a car so I gave him the single least sexy car I could think of – a boxy but safe Volvo.”
Idris Elba explained how John Luther has changed throughout the series
Elba’s wardrobe might not have changed much over the course of the show. The same can’t be said about the character itself, however.
“He’s gone through a lot of trauma, each time you go through anything bad in your life, it makes you a bit more reflective, and it definitely scars you in some way, this series he’s looking for peace,” Elba once said to BBC during the show’s third season. “He’s very much in love with a woman he meets and is in a different kind of relationship now, he loves her and he’s going for it. This series is very much about Luther trying to get to the finish line and trying to change his life.”
The series has seen Luther progress and change further, even headlining his own movie Luther: The Fallen Sun. And judging from the film’s ending, it seems the character’s growth and journey aren’t done yet, giving the detective a shot at peace. Although Elba didn’t think that Luther could ever lead a peaceful life.
“He will seek out people who do wrong and they’ll seek him out. People will come to him if something has gone wrong. Luther will always be that guy who can’t help seeking out those bad people and if he does that for the rest of his life he’ll never get peace,” he said.
