Hollywood star Idris Elba, who’s landing leading roles in blockbuster franchises like Fast & Furious and Suicide Squad, is now saying that he is no longer interested in playing James Bond due to the “disgusting” focus on race that so many have over the role.
Appearing on the SmartLess podcast, released on June 26, Elba said that years ago he was very enthusiastic about requests that he be cast for the 007 role.
“The truth is, I was super complimented for a long time about this” Elba said. “I was like, ‘This is crazy!’ James Bond. . .We’re all actors and we understand that role. It’s one of those coveted [roles]. Being asked to be James Bond was like, ‘Ok, you’ve sort of reached the pinnacle’. That’s one of those things the whole world has a vote in.”
Elba made an allusion to one prominent person in the James Bond world who was not very interested in having Elba cast in the role.
“Essentially, it was a huge compliment that every corner of the world except from some corners, which we will not talk about, were really happy about the idea that I could be considered,” Elba said alluding to the negative comments by Bond author Anthony Horowitz who said he felt Elba was “too street” for the role.
But the Luther star also said that the focus on race soured him.
“Those that weren’t happy about the idea made the whole thing disgusting and off-putting, because it became about race. It became about nonsense, and I got the brunt of it,” he said.
Idris Elba arrives at the 11th Annual LACMA Art + Film Gala at Los Angeles County Museum of Art on November 05, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Steve Granitz/FilmMagic)
Elba has decried the race angle before. In March, he insisted that he isn’t a “black actor,” but is , instead, just an actor. “I stopped describing myself as a Black actor when I realized it put me in a box,” he said.
“As humans, we are obsessed with race. And that obsession can really hinder people’s aspirations, hinder people’s growth. Racism should be a topic for discussion, sure. Racism is very real,” Elba said. “But from my perspective, it’s only as powerful as you allow it to be. We’ve got to grow. We’ve got to. Our skin is no more than that: It’s just skin.”
Daniel Craig attends a special event hosted by Omega to celebrate 60 years of James Bond on November 23, 2022 in London, England. (Mike Marsland/Getty Images for Omega)
The actor also suffered a backlash from the “woke” over his comments about race. He later blasted back at the detractors calling them “stupid” and insisting that he was “denying” his blackness.
Elba also said that having opinions in today’s social media environment is often a challenge, and noted that “in this day and age, it’s really difficult to have an opinion if you’re in the public eye because it gets overly scrutinized, taken out of context, thrown into some sort of bullshit, zeitgeisty social media argument.”
“Me saying I don’t like to call myself a black actor is my prerogative. That’s me, not you. So for you to turn around and say to me, I’m ‘denying my blackness’. On what grounds? Did you hear that? Where am I denying it? And what for? It’s just stupid. Whatever,” he told the paper.
Whoever is next cast to portray the famed spy, at 50, Elba is probably already too old to take the role. James Bond should ideally be someone in his early 30s. Indeed, Daniel Craig himself was 38 when he first took the role. And was 53 during his last outing as 007. In addition, Sean Connery, who originated the movie role, was 33 when he first took the job. George Lazenby was only 30 when he filmed his sole outing as James Bond. Timothy Dalton was 41, Pierce Brosnan was 42, and the oldest was Roger Moore who was already 46 when he first starred in the role.
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