For years the rumour mill has been in overdrive with speculation that actor Idris Elba is in the running to land the role of James Bond.
With casting underway for the reboot, Elba, 53, has finally weighed in and revealed he was never up for this role.
“My name’s not getting thrown out, no way,” Elba replied when People asked how he felt about his name being thrown in the mix.
“They’re going younger. And I wish them all the luck of the world. I can’t wait – it’s going to be amazing.”
“I’m honestly not in the race ever. I wasn’t in the race in the first place,” he added.
In recent weeks, the rumour mill kicked back up again, with the Luther star’s name thrown around a lot about who will land the new Bond role.
He previously spoke about the speculation back in 2023, during an appearance on the Smartless podcast with Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, and Sean Hayes.
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At the time, he was flattered over the rumours that he could be the new Bond, although he admitted he was put off by the whole thing when the conversation became about race.
“The truth is, I was super complimented for a long time about this,” Elba told the hosts.
“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.”
He said it’s essentially “a huge compliment” that most corners of the world were happy about the idea that he could be considered.
“Those who 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 added.
Bond was last played by Daniel Craig in 2021’s No Time To Die. Others who have played 007 include Sean Connery, David Niven, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan.
Elba’s name was thrown into the mix long before Craig stepped away from the role.
In 2014, a leaked email from Sony Pictures executive Amy Pascal revealed she felt “Idris should be the next Bond.”
But over the last decade, more and more names have been thrown around when it comes to who will take on the coveted role.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Harris Dickinson, Callum Turner and even Aussie Jacob Elordi are just some of the many names that are in the running for the role.
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