Damson Idris Dishes On His New Action Film Outside The Wire - Exclusive

Netflix's new sci-fi action movie Outside the Wire takes place in the not-too-distant future. The setting: eastern Europe, specifically the Balkan region. Nations are fighting, and — more importantly — a ruthless gang is trying to take over large swaths of the region. The United States is involved, as are robotic soldiers called GUMPs. Damson Idris, who stars as Lt. Thomas Harp, described his character to Looper as "a young, hot shot drone pilot who believes what he's doing is great." During our exclusive interview, Idris elaborated on the character's arc: "He believes he's God's gift to earth, but unfortunately he disobeys a direct order because he feels he's doing what's right."

This disobedience earns him a trip to the frontlines so he can see the consequences of war up close. He's assigned to work with Captain Leo (Anthony Mackie), who is — unbeknownst to almost everyone — an experimental android, made to look and act human. The two work together to stop a long-dormant doomsday device from falling into the wrong hands. As Idris told us, that leads Harp and Leo into an adventure that's as fun as thrilling as it is dramatic.

Idris speaks highly of his experience on the movie. He loved working in Budapest, calling it "a beautiful city" where "they're truly all thankful for larger industries to be coming to their places and making movies and providing work." He also has high praise for Anthony Mackie, who he likens to a big brother. Idris even says that working on the film made him think more about warfare — specifically the up-close effects of drone strikes. Confronting this all-too-relevant topic, even in the guise of a sci-fi movie, illustrated for the actor "how difficult their jobs are, but it's also made me see that this is something that needs to come to an end very soon."

He's especially excited for people to see Outside the Wire's special effects and CGI. "It rivals movies I love such as Ex Machina," he says. Watching the completed project was immensely satisfying, since he couldn't interact with the GUMPs during production. "I wanted human interaction. I wanted to bump into the camp GUMP's and apologize. I wanted to say hello or good evening." He also has to interact with Leo a lot, which meant seeing Mackie "with dots over his body" and waiting to see the end result. "I think it is beautiful, and I think it is something that speaks hugely to film and the abilities of special effects in that department."

When asked what he wants audiences to take away from the movie, Idris is direct. "Above all things I want people to understand this is a fun, action packed movie," he says. "And although it has something to say — a couple things — I want the audience to be entertained. When you switch on Netflix on Friday, I want you to have your popcorn ready, I want you to have your family around you, and I want you to be ready to be thrilled and entertained."

Outside the Wire is streaming on Netflix starting today. Stay tuned to Looper for more exclusive coverage.