Actor Idris Elba has said that an outbreak of racial reactions to the prospect of him being cast as James Bond “made the whole thing disgusting and off-putting”.
Speaking on Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett’s SmartLess podcast, the 50-year-old actor recently opened about the backlash he had to face from some corners after his name had surfaced as a probable candidate for the role of the fictional British secret agent.
“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. And it became about nonsense and I got the brunt of it,” he said.
Despite sounding very reluctant about the prospect of playing Bond, the actor was quick to point out that it was a massive honour to be considered for the role. “I was super complimented for a long time about this. We’re all actors and we understand that role is one of those coveted… Being asked to be James Bond would be like: ‘OK, you’ve sort of reached the pinnacle’.”
After a successful stint with five consecutive movies in the James Bond franchise, Craig finally retired from the role after 2021’s No Time to Die, prompting the producers to look for a new face and fuelling the speculation of Elba being considered for the role of the iconic spy in Her Majesty’s Secret Service. However, producer Barbara Broccoli has clarified that Elba is not likely to appear in the role as they are looking for a younger actor.
Elba’s British thriller miniseries Hijack’s first two episodes premiered on Apple TV+ on June 28. He was also seen alongside Chris Hemsworth in Netflix’s action film Extraction 2, which debuted on Netflix on June 16.
