Idris Elba claims James Bond audiences ‘won’t go for a black male’ playing 007 as he rules himself out of the running and says ‘it was never legit’

Idris Elba announced that he will not play himself, despite rumors that he will take on the role of James Bond for years.

The 53-year-old Luther star has emerged as a top candidate to replace Daniel Craig in the long-awaited return of the film franchise.

However, Idris denied rumors that he would eventually become 007 and insisted audiences would ‘not prefer a black male’ playing the iconic role.

In a new cover story British GQ’s Heroes IssueThe actor said of the long-running reports: ‘This was never legal. “It was always just a rumor.”

He explained how the rumors started at the Italian premiere of Quantum Of Solace, held one day after the 2008 US presidential election; Daniel Craig says Barack Obama’s victory shows we have arrived at the time of Black Bond.

Idris says fans took Daniel’s words and went along with it: ‘I always felt like it wasn’t a realistic thing. “There’s a reason why James Bond is written this way,” he added. ‘But I got compliments on it.’

The Luther star, 53, is a top candidate to take over from Daniel Craig in the long-awaited return of the film series

Idris later said that he did not believe that every character should be revived for the new generation.

‘Realistically, I think some markets are not into it. Bond is big everywhere in the world. And [audiences] habit [all] “Prefer a black man playing Bond, an African man,” Idris said.

‘That’s not what they like about their culture. Period. Bond is so unrealistic that some sense of realism is nice, but let’s not try to evoke it. I think you have to be naive about what it is: escape. Don’t try to respond to the taste of the world. ‘Just be Bond.’

Definitely moving away from Bond, the newly knighted actor instead puts much of his focus on his work with young people and his anti-knife campaign; This includes his new project: creating a multi-purpose cultural space in North Kensington, inspired by the multicultural environment in which he grew up in Hackney.

When asked what inspires his energy, Idris told GQ that his father Winston’s battle with lung cancer and subsequent death in 2013 “changed my life.”

He had been living in the US for more than a decade when his father was diagnosed but moved back to the UK to be close to his father. In addition to his work on Luther, he took on roles such as The Gunman with Sean Penn to help pay for his father’s private medical care, and he recalled: ‘I was going to try to save my father.’

His father died while Idris shot the Gunman. Recalling his father’s last moments, Idris said: ‘When he was about to die, he was partially in a coma before he left.’

‘With the last breath, with the last breath, he opened his eyes. I was standing right above him, holding his hand like this. He looked directly at me. He probably wasn’t looking after me from a medical standpoint. But it felt like it was.”

In the new cover story of British GQ’s Heroes Issue, the actor said of the long-running news: ‘It was never legal. ‘It was always just a rumor’

‘That’s it, every worry he thought, every stress, the things he worried about, the things he couldn’t get, the things he wanted, the things he achieved – it’s gone. Gone. “It could have been a table.”

‘I said: Is this what will happen when you die? It was mind-blowing. I don’t like to talk about it because I get emotional about it, but it’s what absolutely changed my life; it comes from there. I had energy before, but seeing life go away…’

‘His last breath was my first breath, frankly. You know, I don’t mean to be poetic, but it was just like… What am I going to do with my life? Because one day this will be the end of me. And I wish I had or tried or [having] ‘I’ve spent my whole life pretending to be someone – that is – I’m an actor.’

Meanwhile, rumors surrounding the casting of the next James Bond reach fever pitch as bookmakers’ favorites jockey for position.

Idris later stated that he did not believe that every character should be revived for a new generation, adding: ‘Bond is big all over the world. [Audiences] habit [all] ‘Prefer a black man’

Daniel Craig’s latest performance in No Time to Die (2021) was both a critical triumph and a blockbuster success, but fans have since had to wait for news on who will step into the tuxedo next.

This wait became even longer after the Broccoli family handed over creative control of the series to Amazon MGM Studios, beginning a new era for 007 and fueling speculation about the direction of the reboot.

Speaking at Cannes last month, casting director Nina Gold added new interest to the process by hinting that the next Bond would have to be a long-term commitment and someone who can “ooze sex appeal” across multiple films.

In this environment, the bookmakers’ usual favorites – Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Harris Dickinson and Callum Turner – continue to dominate the odds.

British GQ’s Heroes Issue is available as a digital download and on newsstands from Tuesday 9 June.