Surprise, Surprise: Racists Turned Idris Elba Off From Playing James Bond
Cary Joji's Fukunaga's action flick "No Time to Die," the fifth film to feature Daniel Craig in the role of James Bond, was initially scheduled for release in 2020, but was delayed until 2021 due to Covid-related lockdowns. At the end of that film, James Bond bravely sacrifices his life to prevent a fleet of missiles from flying out into the world and killing untold thousands. He was also infected with hyper-intelligent nanobots that would have prevented him from ever touching his young daughter or would-be wife, so he was okay with the sacrifice. Bond had never out-and-out perished on camera before, so "No Time to Die" almost seemed poised to bring the James Bond film franchise to a close. This would have made sense, given that the character is a relic of the Cold War and serves less of a political function than he did 60 years ago.
But, no. The credits for "No Time to Die" included the typical tease: James Bond will return. Naturally, speculation began immediately as to what actor should play the new Bond.
One's first instinct might have been to suggest Lashana Lynch, who briefly played an agent with the 007 designation in "No Time to Die." Others suggested the dashing Henry Cavill, who already played a similar spy role in Guy Ritchie's "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." (and is poised to do something similar in the upcoming "Argylle"). At the top of the conversation, though, was Idris Elba, star of "The Wire" and "Luther" and quite possibly one of the most handsome men alive.
On the most recent episode of the podcast "SmartLess," Elba talked about how happy he was to be considered for James Bond ... until bigots soured the part for him. The outward racism Elba experienced was too much to bear, and he eventually backed off.
'I was super complimented for a long time'
When the rumors of Elba's potential casting as 007 began circulating, the actor was elated. He felt that James Bond would be quite the feather in his cap, as they are some of the most visible films that world cinema currently has to offer. However, when Elba kept on hearing more and more mentions of his race, he wanted the part less and less. Elba, a Black man, encountered numerous creeps and bigots who complained that James Bond needs to be white. Author Anthony Horowitz, as far back as 2015, even wrote that Elba was "too street" to play James Bond, projecting a racist stereotype onto the actor. (Horowitz eventually apologized.)
Elba recalled the early salad days of wanting to play James Bond with the "SmartLess" hosts Jason Bateman, Shawn Hays, and Will Arnett, saying:
"The truth is, I was super complimented for a long time about this. 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."
There were certainly a number of people familiar with the rumors who likely voted enthusiastically in the affirmative. Elba possessed 007's sexiness, and could easily play the part with dapper, upper-crust sensibilities while also projecting Bond's requisite twinkling roguishness.
'Actor' vs. 'Black actor'
But there were a small number of noisy a-holes who ruined it for everyone else. Elba started to hear racist "backlash," which was most assuredly discouraging. Elba said:
"Essentially, it was a huge compliment that every corner of the world except from 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."
Elba has had to face racism his whole life, and hearing it in the shadow of James Bond only made 007 seem unpalatable. In a recent interview with Esquire, Elba noted that he no longer likes to describe himself as a "Black actor," as he feels that encourages racist thinking. Colorblindness, he implied, can be positive. Elba said:
"As humans, we are obsessed with race. And that obsession can really hinder people's aspirations, hinder people's growth. Racism should be a topic for discussion, sure. Racism is very real. But from my perspective, it's only as powerful as you allow it to be. I stopped describing myself as a Black actor when I realized it put me in a box. We've got to grow. We've got to. Our skin is no more than that: it's just skin. Rant over."
Those comments caused a minor firestorm on social media and sparked conversations about identity and race that are still raging. Elba even confronted attackers on Twitter.
The Twitter kerfuffle was a sign that Elba's race was more important to 007 fans than to him. Ultimately, there was too much rage. No wonder he stepped away.