Jonathan Majors Reveals Idris Elba Convinced Him To Play Kang The Conqueror

Jonathan Majors reveals a pep talk from veteran Idris Elba helped him decide to take the role of Kang The Conqueror in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the biggest villain since Thanos.

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Jonathan Majors first blessed our screens in the ABC miniseries When We Rise which he was still in while a student at YALE. Shortly after that debut Majors received his first major look in The Last Black man In San Francisco which earned him an Independent Spirit Award nomination. That film was not that long ago premiering at Sundance in January of 2019. His performance was praised by critics and would set up an epic run of appearances, which he is still in the midst of.

The most notable appearances since then include Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods and HBO’s television series Lovecraft Country. Critics couldn’t get enough of Majors in Lovecraft Country, even calling him the foundation of the show and the main reason to watch. Shortly after it was announced Majors had landed a casting most everyone in Hollywood seeks, a major role with Disney and Marvel Studios.

Majors was cast as the supervillain Kang The Conqueror, the most important villain since Thanos. While many would jump at the chance to work with Marvel, Majors reveals he was hesitant and needed a friend, and fellow Marvel alumni Idris Elba had to convince him to take the role according to The Ringer.

“I had watched the films. Love Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, killed it,” Majors says. “[But] I was like, ‘I don’t think you want me. I don’t think you want what I’m going to do. Like, I don’t think you want that.’ That was my hesitation. I was like, ‘You got the right Black guy?’”

“He’s Idris Elba, you know, he’s a big dog, he’s done it all,” Majors says. “Here comes the youngster coming up, you know, and we were talking about work and the legacy of Black actors and all that stuff. And he said, ‘You can do that.’ What Dwayne Johnson has done to the game, what Idris Elba has done to the game, what Will Smith did to the game. This idea that the Black men can enter into a highly commercial world.”

Regardless of whether or not it was insecurity or imposter syndrome, we are glad Idris was there to give him the little boost he needed. After his debut in the Disney+ series LOKI its safe to say he was perfect for the part and fans can’t get enough of him. Even if he didn’t get the comic-con red carpet rollout, when he touches that stage, the MCU fans will be rushing to praise his great acting as ‘He Who Remains’ aka Kang.