Idris Elba Admits He Was No Longer Interested In Becoming The Next James Bond When It Became About Race
The coveted role of James Bond has been left vacant after Daniel Craig said, “Get somebody else to do it!” and traded in his martinis for a value pack of Metamucil. And although it’s still unclear who will be stepping into those powder blue boy shorts as the next Agent 007, one name has been circulating for years, and that name is Elba. Idris Elba. Unfortunately, Idris also wanted no part in taking on the role primarily because he believes that time has passed, and he doesn’t want to break a hip while running around chasing bad guys and bedding beautiful British broads. Or at least, that was what he wanted us to think. Because now Idris reveals he grew tired of the Bond talk once the conversation turned to race.
I’m not sure who will become the next James Bond, but a few names that have been tossed around are Tom Hardy, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and (insert eye roll) Harry Styles. And I know what you’re thinking; “We Want IDRIS!“. Honestly, I think we all want Idris (in more ways than one), but we need to let that thought go immediately because it ain’t happening. But not because of the PC response he gave us many years ago. Primarily because although Idris was excited about potentially taking on the role, he was immediately dismayed once everything became about race, and it started with a 2015 comment made by Bond author Anthony Horowitz who, according to The Guardian, basically said Idris would be a terrible choice because he’s too street (i.e., too BLACK).
Horowitz expressed doubts that Luther star Idris Elba would be the right man for the role, saying: “For me, Idris Elba is a bit too rough to play the part. It’s not a colour issue. I think he is probably a bit too ‘street’ for Bond.” Horowitz said the actor playing Bond needed to be “suave”, and that Hustle star Adrian Lester would fit better.
Of course, he apologized, but fuck him. Because before our feigned Kum By Yah world of diversity, many folks agreed with Anthony’s cold take on why Idris wouldn’t fit as Bond. And now, since we know he’s never doing it, Idris revealed during the SmartLess podcast that the real bad guy in the discussion around his portrayal of the beloved character wasn’t age. Instead, it was the villain we’ve all come to know and love as a society; racism. Variety reports;
“The truth is, I was super complimented for a long time about this,” Elba said about originally embracing the idea about playing Bond. “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.”
“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.”
Idris would have been an amazing Bond, but now we’ll be stuck with another blandly handsome white man with monotone acting skills and not enough flair to pull it off. And YES, I’m looking at you, Harry Styles, because that’s probably what we’ll end up with in an attempt to make the franchise young again.
Pic: INSTARImages