Idris Elba Once Felt He’d Rather Play a Bond Villain Instead of James Bond
Many James Bond fans were once excited by the idea of actor Idris Elba possibly playing 007. Although that ship seems to have sailed, there may still be hope Elba might one day find himself in the Bond franchise. But only as an enemy.
Idris Elba told a close friend he’d make a better Bond baddie
There has been very little update on who might pick up the 007 mantle when James Bond is inevitably rebooted. What rumblings there have been about the new James Bond is that it’s likely a younger actor will inherit the role. With Elba being too old, this would automatically rule him out of the running. But there may be other options for the actor yet.
English musician John Newman claims to be a very good friend of Elba’s. The two had a private conversation about the actor’s Bond prospects behind closed doors. According to Newman, Elba might’ve been more interested in playing another type of Bond character.
”There was a conversation where he thought he’d be a better baddie and I was like, ‘You’ve got a good point. You’d be an amazing baddie,’” Newman once told Digital Spy (via Contact Music).
Still, Newman confided that he’d also like to see Elba in the Bond role as well.
”It’d be a nice change to have a guy that’s very different to James Bond. It’s not due to his race or anything like that, because that’s the big thing everyone’s basing it round. He fits into that role very, very well,” he added.
Idris Elba felt being thought of for James Bond was the pinnacle of an actor’s career
Elba confided that he was flattered so many fans thought he was perfect to play James Bond.
“I was like, ‘This is crazy!’ Because James Bond… We’re all actors and we understand that role. It’s one of those coveted [roles],” Elba once told the SmartLess Podcast. “Being asked to be James Bond was like, ‘Okay, you’ve sort of reached the pinnacle.'”
Elba further added that the casting of James Bond was unique, in that the world should’ve had a voice in that decision. But over the years, Elba admitted that he soured on the idea of playing Bond. Although many clamored for him to do the character, there were other James Bond fans that made his casting a race issue. And it was a controversy that Elba didn’t want to deal with.
“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,” he said.
How Idris Elba compared his John Luther to James Bond
Elba already had a popular character and franchise under his own belt. Since 2010, the actor had been portraying John Luther in the titular series Luther. On the surface, John Luther couldn’t have been more different than James Bond. Luther focused on a tormented detective who specialized in tracking down serial killers. It was a far-cry away from the grand adventures James Bond would often find himself in. Still, Elba felt that presented an interesting parallel.
“I don’t want to compare John Luther to James Bond, but in the whirlwind of conversations around me playing James Bond, I’ve always said, ‘Wait until we see John Luther in a movie.’ Because I feel like the real estate is the same,” Elba once said on Today. “In the sense that James Bond is a sort of very charismatic character in these really unusual situations, and some of them are relatable but most of them are not. John Luther is an ordinary detective with sort of extraordinary circumstances, but very relatable.”
