Hollywood actor, Idris Elba recently expressed that being considered for the iconic James Bond role has always been a tremendous honour for him. However, discussions surrounding his race have unfortunately diminished his enthusiasm for pursuing the opportunity.
During a recent interview on the SmartLess podcast, Elba briefly spoke about the rumours that he could one day play the James Bond role. He said that when he first heard them, it was a huge compliment for the actor.
He said,
“The truth is, I was super complimented for a long time about this,” Elba said (via Variety). “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.”
However, Elba mentioned that although the majority of the world embraced the idea, there were certain pockets where the response was not as positive. The negativity and disdain from these “corners” eventually tainted the entire experience, leaving the actor feeling disgusted and disheartened.
“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 added. “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.”
The individual who ultimately assumes the role of Bond will undoubtedly face the daunting task of filling in the iconic character’s sizable shoes. However, fans may have to wait for quite some time before they can witness another Bond movie on the silver screen.
“There isn’t a script, and we can’t come up with one until we decide how we’re going to approach the next film because, really, it’s a reinvention of Bond,” said longtime James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli last year. “We’re reinventing who he is, and that takes time. I’d say that filming is at least two years away.”
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