Idris Elba thinks being offered the role of James Bond would put him in a “difficult position.”
The “Luther” star has been tapped to take over the role as the iconic spy, since 51-year-old hunk and actor Daniel Craig announced his decision to hang up his guns back in 2016. Elba would become the first black actor to nab the part, and although he welcomes the opportunity to play the famous character, he’s worried the public reaction would be based on his ethnicity rather than his skill.
Speaking to Vanity Fair magazine, the 46-year-old actor explained: “James Bond is a hugely coveted, iconic, beloved character, that takes audiences on this massive escapism journey.
“Of course, if someone said to me, ‘Do you want to play James Bond?’ I’d be like, ‘Yeah!’
“That’s fascinating to me. But it’s not something I’ve expressed, like, ‘Yeah, I wanna be the black James Bond’. You just get disheartened 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.
“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.”
Bond 25 – Craig’s last appearance in the role – is currently being filmed in Jamaica but production was temporarily suspended last month when the Skyfall star accidentally slipped while shooting a running scene for the action blockbuster and injured his ankle.
Craig recently underwent “minor” surgery on his foot followed by two weeks of rehabilitation in the U.S. after he was seen by the same surgeon who treated England striker Harry Kane.
Despite the unexpected holdup, producers of Bond 25 are adamant the film is still on track for an April 2020 release date.
Richard Madden and Tom Hiddleston are also being lined up to play the legendarily suave spy.
