Why Roland Deschain From The Dark Tower Looks So Familiar

On August 4th, 2017, fans of Stephen King's Dark Tower series of novels will be flocking to theaters in droves to see The Dark Tower, the first successful adaptation of the books. Starring as titular character Roland Deschain, Idris Elba will lead the cast on an adventure between multiple parallel worlds in a life-and-death struggle with The Man in Black (Matthew McConaughey)—a struggle that threatens the very fabric of existence itself. For a few members of the audience, this may be the first time they have seen Elba in a role. But for many, it's likely they'll get a familiar feeling as they watch this acting giant take on the character of The Gunslinger. 

With an acting career spanning over two decades, you've probably already watched Elba before in one of his many roles—even if you didn't realize it at the time. To help you figure out where you've seen him before, here's a look back at some of his more prominent parts over the years. 

Fair warning: these slides contain a synopsis of Elba's roles in numerous television shows and movies, and will contain plot spoilers!

Only a few years after departing Family Affairs, Elba landed his first major recurring television role in the hit HBO crime drama series The Wire. In the show, Elba starred in the first three seasons as Russell "Stringer" Bell, a drug kingpin and the second-in-command of the fictional Barksdale Organization crime syndicate in Baltimore. 

Although he is undoubtedly a criminal, Stringer Bell isn't a typical drug-slinging crime lord. He attempts to bring an air of legitimacy to the organization by dealing in investments and setting up legitimate front businesses for Barksdale, as well as gaining clout with local politicians by hobnobbing with them and offering them financial support in exchange for their influence. That being said, he wasn't above ordering a murder if the need arose. Eventually, his machinations behind the back of his drug lord boss Avon and manipulation of members of competing gangs leads to his downfall, and he is murdered at a construction site.

The film 28 Weeks Later is a direct sequel to the 2002 post-apocalyptic horror film 28 Days Later. In this sequel, the breakdown of social structure and order in London following the inception of the mysterious Rage virus continues, and a NATO-affiliated American force is called in to attempt to control the situation by establishing a safe zone. 

In control of this force is Brigadier General Stone (Elba), who must deal with an unraveling situation after a pair of child survivors escape the safe zone and make their way to their old home in order to retrieve family mementos and look for their mother, who is presumed dead. Stone must send a force to retrieve them, and eventually the safe zone is compromised with the Rage virus again, setting off a new chain-reaction of infections at breakneck pace. Stone finally makes the call to go "Code Red," an order which essentially authorizes his men to shoot any civilians on site and firebomb the city in order to contain the infection.

In the hit NBC American adaptation of the comedy series The Office, Elba makes an appearance for seven episodes in the fifth season as Charles Miner. Miner is the new Vice President of Northeast Sales for Dunder Mifflin, taking over the position following the departure of Jan and Ryan. He immediately clashes with both Michael and Jim, eventually leading Michael to leave Dunder Mifflin briefly and start his own paper company. 

Michael's new business is successful, causing enough of a financial dent in Dunder Mifflin's business that David Wallace and Miner are forced to offer Michael a buyout, which he declines on the condition that he and his employees are given their old jobs back. Following these events, Idris Elba's character is sent back to headquarters and eventually leaves the company entirely.

Throughout four movies (Thor, Thor: The Dark World, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Thor: Ragnarok) featuring the Marvel comic book character Thor, Elba has played the Norse god Heimdall, an omniscient figure who guards the mythical bridge that allows passage between the worlds of gods and mortals. While it isn't particularly a major role, Heimdall does play an integral part in the films as he directly or indirectly assists Thor in his missions.

Elba explained to Digital Spy why he, as a black actor, was proud to play the part of Heimdall. "My part was very small and functional in the first film, but I still felt very privileged to play him — especially since Heimdall looks a certain way and has a Nordic lineage — and here I was playing this character and bringing him to life in a different way. It felt quite groundbreaking to be a part of that."

In the 2013 science fiction/monster/mecha film Pacific Rim from Director Guillermo del Toro, Elba plays military commander Stacker Pentecost. The planet is at war with mysterious alien monsters, which have appeared on earth via a portal at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. For several years, Earth has fought these "Kaiju" with gigantic robots called Jaegers, which are piloted by a team working together via a mental link. 

The war is not going well, and the Jaeger program is about to be abandoned—with Pentecost left in charge of the last four Jaeger units. He attempts to rebuild his dwindling team of pilots and plots a desperate plan to end the war once and for all by sealing the breach with a nuclear bomb.

In what is perhaps his most acclaimed big-screen role to date, Elba starred in the war drama film Beasts of No Nation, which was released exclusively by Netflix on its digital platform. In the movie, Elba portrays the Commandant of a battalion of the NGF, a guerrilla rebel group which is involved in an ongoing civil war within an unspecified African nation. Caught in the middle of this conflict is a young boy Agu, who is left on his own after his father and brother are shot when their village is attacked. He is eventually picked up by the Commandant's group, and made a member of their militia.

The Commandant is at turns brutal and benevolent to his soldiers, but he also frequently rapes the young boys under his command. He becomes more unstable over time, especially after he is removed from command by his superiors and decides to take his battalion on the run. Elba received glowing reviews for his performance as the Commandant, and he also won a SAG Award for his role—one of two SAG Awards he took home at the 2016 ceremonies.