LISTEN: Idris Elba says the James Bond reports were a ‘huge compliment’ but then racist fans and comments turned him off from playing 007.

Idris Elba says the #JamesBond reports were a ‘huge compliment’ but then racist fans turned him off from playing 007. 

“They made the whole thing disgusting and off-putting because it became about race. It became about nonsense and I got the brunt of it”.

At 50 years old, Elba sadly isn’t the “thirty-something” actor the producers are looking for. “We’ve tried looking at younger people in the past. But trying to visualize it doesn’t work,” James Bond franchise producer Michael G. Wilson said last year. “Remember, Bond’s already a veteran. He’s had some experience. He’s a person who has been through the wars, so to speak. He’s probably been in the SAS or something. He isn’t some kid out of high school that you can bring in and start off. That’s why it works for a thirty-something.“

One of the more popular picks fans have had with fantasy casting for the next James Bond has been Idris Elba. The Luther star’s name has come up for several years as someone many fans would like to see suit up as 007, and with casting still underway for the next Bond, there are still a lot of people rooting for Elba to get the part. By this point, however, Elba’s not as interested in the role as he once was, making it much more unlikely that the fantasy casting will come to be.

Per Variety, the actor spoke about the James Bond rumors in a new interview on the SmartLess podcast. He recalls how flattered he felt about it when fans first started pushing for him to get the role after Daniel Craig’s run was finished. Given the immense and enduring popularity of the James Bond franchise, Elba remembers how that was one of those moments that made him feel like he’d reached the “pinnacle” of his acting career.

“The truth is, I was super complimented for a long time about this,” Elba explains. “I was like, ‘This is crazy!’ James Bond…We’re all actors and we understand that role. It’s one of those coveted [roles]. Being asked to be James Bond was like, ‘Ok, you’ve sort of reached the pinnacle’. That’s one of those things the whole world has a vote in.”

I still think that Idris Elba would have made a great James Bond, but the actor took himself out of the running nearly seven years ago when he said that he was too old for the role. “I keep saying if it were to happen it would be the will of a nation because there hasn’t been any talks between me and the studio about any of that,” Elba said in 2016. “But everywhere I go people want that to happen, so…but if I’m really honest man, I think I’m too old for that man, running around in cars and ladies and martinis, who wants to do that? Sounds terrible.”