Idris Elba Wanted to Be James Bond Until ‘It Became About Race’

Idris Elba has opened up about his past desire to play James Bond in a movie, saying that it was something he wanted until “it became about race.” During an appearance on the Smartless podcast, Elba explained his position on the matter to hosts Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, and Sean Hayes. The actor says he initially felt “super complimented” when rumors began swirling about him portraying the icon cinema super-spy, but it all eventually changed.

“We’re all actors and we understand that that role is one of those sort of coveted types. It’s like being named Sexiest Man [Alive],” Elba said, referring to his 2018 PEOPLE title. “But being asked to be James Bond was like, ‘Okay, you’ve sort of reached the pinnacle.’” He continued, “Essentially, 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 and off-putting, because it became about race. It became about nonsense, and I got the brunt of it.”

In the past few years, there’s been a lot of talk about who would take over the role of James Bond following Daniel Craig’s tenure, which began with Casino Royale in 2006 and ended with No Time to Die in 2021. While Elba has seemingly ruled out a sting as the British secret agent, the film franchise’s producers stated in 2022 that he was still “part of the conversation’ for the next 007 movie. During an interview on Deadline’s Crew Call podcast, James Bond producers Barbara Broccoli & Michael G. Wilson revealed that Elba has been discussed as a possible contender for the role. “We know Idris…he’s a magnificent actor,” Broccoli said, teasingly. 

In a 2019 Vanity Fair interview, Elba spoke about his interest in the role, stating that, if asked, he would absolutely jump at the chance to portray the British super spy. “Of course, if someone said to me, ‘Do you want to play James Bond?’ I’d be like, ‘Yeah!’ That’s fascinating to me,” Elba said. “But it’s not something I’ve expressed, like, ‘Yeah, I wanna be the black James Bond.’” 

He then went on to speak candidly about those who criticized his potential casting simply due to the fact that he is a Black man. “You just get disheartened,” he said. “When you get people from a generational point of view going, ‘It can’t be.’ And it really turns out to be the color of my skin. And then if I get it and it didn’t work, or it did work, would it be because of the color of my skin? That’s a difficult position to put myself into when I don’t need to.”