Stretching his acting talents to their limits, famously handsome person Idris Elba is gearing up to portray one of literature’s most well-established uggos. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the British actor has signed on to star in Netflix’s upcoming adaptation of The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, even though the Victor Hugo novel it’s adapting never bothered to mention its hero’s soulful, piercing eyes, or the kind of stubbly, perfectly chiseled chin with which an industrious glazier might easily cut glass.
Elba will not only star as Quasimodo, the titular poorly-postured cathedral dweller, he’ll also direct and write the music for the film, because Idris Elba is just relentless with this shit. The streaming film will be Elba’s second feature, after this year’s Yardie; meanwhile, he’s been pumping out music for years, and recently began development on a TV series, Turn Up Charlie, in which he’ll play an aspiring DJ and part-time nanny, for the service, (And if you’re catching a “Why yes, I am a musician” vibe from Elba’s latest efforts, well, yes: It is what it is.) A press release for the Notre Dame project promises that it’ll be a “sonic and musical experience,” which is good news for those Elba fans who also enjoy the concept of sound.