Why I no longer want to play James Bond role - Idris Elba
The British actor and director stated in a recent interview that he initially wanted to play the classic role before it became about racism.
Appearing as a guest on the most recent episode of the Smartless podcast, co-hosted by Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett, the 50-year-old actor shared his thoughts on the rumours and the racism that eventually came with it.
In his words, "The truth is, I was super complemented for a long time about this [playing the James Bond role]. I was like, 'This is crazy! James Bond?'"We are all actors, and we understand that role. It's one of those coveted roles. Being asked to be James Bond was like, 'Okay, you've sort of reached the pinnacle.' That is one of those things the whole world has a vote in. It was a huge compliment that every corner of the world, except for some corners, which we will not talk about, were really happy about the idea that I could be considered. Those that weren't happy about the idea made the whole thing disgusting because it became about race."
Long before Daniel Craig's final outing as Bond in No Time to Die (2021), Elba's name entered the 007 conversation after Sony Pictures CEO Amy Pascal said in a leaked 2014 email that she believed "Idris should be the next Bond."
One of the franchise's major producers, Barbara Broccoli, spoke on Deadline's Crew Call podcast in 2022 and acknowledged that Elba had "been part of the conversation".
"Well, we know Idris, I'm friends with him, and he's a magnificent actor," she said. "It's been part of the conversation, but it's always difficult to have the conversation when you have someone in the seat."
For now, the coveted position is on hold as the filmmakers take their time to reinvent the role and the film series.
"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," Broccoli stated in a June 2022 interview with Deadline. It takes time to redefine who he is, which we are doing.
The next James Bond movie's filming is "at least two years away," the James Bond series producer continued.
Sean Connery, David Niven, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and finally Daniel Craig have all portrayed James Bond.
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