Watch This Trailer and See Idris Elba as a DJ-Turned-Nanny in Netflix's Turn Up Charlie

But as the trailer for new Netflix series Turn Up Charlie demonstrates, hes also happy to trade in his tough guy persona for laughs.

Elba plays Charlie, a washed-up DJ who still lives at home and dreams of making it big in the music industry. So when his friend, superstar Sara (Piper Perabo), calls on him with a job opportunity, he thinks this could be his big breakbut it turns out, she needs someone to look after her misbehaving daughter.

The action hero playing babysitter is well-mined comedy territory; Hulk Hogan did it in Mr. Nanny, and Vin Diesel played pretty much the same role in The Pacifier. What makes Turn Up Charlie different on first look is that Elba is leaning away from his action star persona; when we first meet protagonist Charlie, hes kind of a loser, and the whole vibe of the trailer is more romantic comedy than anything else.

Of course, Elba is no stranger to the decks himself; he DJs in real life under the moniker DJ Big Drills, and he often circuits with recording artist Craig David (who makes a cameo appearance as himself in the trailer), and it looks like some of his experiences of that world have made it into the show.

Turn Up Charlie was created and executive produced by Elba, with the first four episodes directed by Tristram Shapeero, who has pretty great comedy credentials. Hes worked on some of your favourite TV shows, including The Good Place, GLOW, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Happy Endings.

All eight episodes of Turn Up Charlie will be available to stream on Netflix from March 15.