Idris Elba stepped into “Masters of the Universe” with the kind of confidence only he can carry, but in his exclusive BET News conversation, what stood out most to him about the role was how much it meant to him beyond the fantasy. 

The movie may be built on nostalgia, but Elba made clear that playing Man-At-Arms, aka Duncan, was about more than just tapping into a beloved favorite. “Masters of the Universe” chronicles the origin story of the nostalgic figurine, He-Man. 

And in this live-action version, He-Man is played by British heartthrob Nicholas Galitzine. Elba is very used to playing a heartthrob or the object of the audience’s affection, even when his character is simply attempting to solve crimes (and his good looks should be a non-factor). But not this time. 

Elba laughed about where he is in his career now, saying, “I’m the dad guy now,” adding that his work has “moved on to the dads and judges and detectives” instead of the usual Hollywood hunk lane.

That shift matters to him. When asked how he keeps evolving physically and creatively, Elba said, “If you’re relevant as an actor, and you keep working, then you try to stay healthy, try to stay ambitious in your roles, try to keep your audience guessing.” For him, the goal is to keep delivering quality and stay open to different kinds of work. His Man-At-Arms role is Elba being open to different kinds of work. This role originated as a white man, but Elba said he wanted longtime fans to recognize the character “regardless if he was a different shade or not.”

He’s leaned into this role with more depth than just the muscle and the mustache. Elba said the character’s story carries “the fragility of admitting that you messed up,” and appreciated that Duncan starts out as “this badass, super hyper masculine man” but ends up confronting his own failures. “I was excited to be able to play that,” he said.

The appeal of “Masters of the Universe” is tied to what the film gets right about fantasy. “Even if you’ve never seen He-Man, go see ‘Masters of the Universe’ because it is an experience,” Elba said. “It’s trippy. It’s full of color… and if you like animation, you’re going to love this because even though it’s live action, it feels like the cartoons.”

Elba said his son, who is 12, now knows what He-Man is because of this film. “I want my kids to see this,” he said.