Idris Elba has ruled himself out of ever playing James Bond, despite years of rumours that he was set to take over the role.
The Luther star, 53, has been one of the top contenders to replace Daniel Craig when the movie franchise makes its long-awaited return.
But Idris has finally shut down the rumours he’ll be 007, insisting audiences ‘won’t go for a black male’ playing the iconic role.
In a new cover story for British GQ’s Heroes Issue, the actor said of the long-running reports: ‘It was never legit. It was always just a rumour.’
He explained how the rumours started at the Italian premiere of Quantum Of Solace, held a day after the 2008 US presidential election; Daniel Craig said that Barack Obama’s victory suggested we had reached the time for a Black Bond.
Idris says fans simply took Daniel’s words and ran with it: ‘I’ve always felt that it’s not a realistic thing. James Bond was written how he was written for a reason,’ he added. ‘But I was complimented by it.’
Idris Elba has ruled himself out of ever playing James Bond, despite years of rumours he was set to take over the role
The Luther star, 53, has been one of the top contenders to take over from Daniel Craig when the movie franchise makes its long-awaited return
Idris then said he doesn’t believe that every character needs to be revitalised for a new generation.
‘I think, in realistic terms, some markets just don’t go for that. Bond is big all over the world. And [audiences] won’t [all] go for a Black male, an African male, playing Bond,’ Idris said.
‘That’s not what they like in their culture. Period. Bond is so unrealistic, so a hint of reality is good, but let’s not try and make it woke. I think you’ve got to be pure to what it is: escapism. Don’t try and answer the world’s taste. Just be Bond.’
Firmly distancing himself from Bond, the newly knighted actor is instead pouring much of his focus into his work with young people and anti-knife crime campaigning, including his new project – creating a multi-use cultural venue in North Kensington inspired by the kind of multicultural environment he grew up around in Hackney.
When asked what inspires his energy, Idris told GQ that his father Winston’s lung cancer battle and subsequent death in 2013 ‘changed my life’.
At the time of his father’s diagnosis he had been living in the US for over a decade, but moved back to England to be close to his dad. Alongside his work on Luther, he took on roles in films such as The Gunman with Sean Penn to help pay for his father’s private medical care, recalling: ‘I was gonna try and save my dad.’
His dad died whilst Idris was shooting The Gunman. Remembering his father’s final moments, Idris said: ‘When he was dying, he was partly in a coma before he went.
‘The last breath, the last breath, he opened his eyes. I was standing right above him, like this, holding his hand. He looked directly at me. Medically, he probably wasn’t looking at me. But it felt like he was.
In a new cover story for British GQ’s Heroes Issue, the actor said of the long-running rumours he’ll be 007: ‘It was never legit. It was always just a rumour’
‘That’s it, every anxiety, every stress he used to think about, things he was worried about, things he couldn’t get, things he wanted, things he achieved – gone. Gone. He might as well have been a table.
‘I was like, “That’s what happens when you die?” It was mind-blowing. I don’t like talking about it, because I get emotional about it, but it is the thing that absolutely changed my life – that’s where it comes from. I had energy before, but to see life gone…
‘His last breath became my first breath, quite frankly. You know, not to be poetic, but it was just like… “What am I gonna do with my life?” Because this is where I’ll end up one day. And I don’t want to go down wishing I did, or tried, or [having] spent my whole life pretending to be someone – I mean – I’m an actor.’
Rumours over the casting of the next James Bond meanwhile are reaching fever pitch, with bookmakers’ favourites jostling for position.
Idris then said he doesn’t believe that every character needs to be revitalised for a new generation, adding ‘Bond is big all over the world. [Audiences] won’t [all] go for a Black male’
Daniel Craig’s final outing in No Time To Die (2021) was both a critical triumph and a box office smash, but fans have been left waiting ever since for news of who will next step into the tuxedo.
That wait has stretched even further after the Broccoli family handed creative control of the franchise to Amazon MGM Studios, ushering in a new era for 007 and fueling speculation over the direction of the reboot.
Speaking at Cannes last month, casting director Nina Gold added fresh intrigue to the process, hinting that the next Bond must be a long-term commitment and someone who can ‘ooze sex appeal’ across multiple films.
Against that backdrop, the usual bookies’ favourites – Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Harris Dickinson and Callum Turner – continue to dominate the odds.
The Heroes Issue of British GQ is available via digital download and on newsstands on Tuesday 9th June