“I had to quit the James Bond role because of racism” – Actor Idris Elba

Famous British actor, Idris Elba, has revealed his previous interest in portraying the iconic character of James Bond, the protagonist of the renowned British fictional franchise, until the issue of racism emerged.

During his appearance as a guest on the most recent episode of the Smartless podcast, co-hosted by Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett, the 50-year-old ‘Beast’ actor opened up about his thoughts on the matter.

Elba confessed that the rumors surrounding his potential casting as James Bond were highly exciting for him.

He said:

“The truth is, I was super complemented for a long time about this [playing the James Bond role]. I was like, ‘This is crazy! James Bond?’

“We are all actors and we understand that role. It’s one of those coveted roles. Being asked to be James Bond was like, ‘Okay, you’ve sort of reached the pinnacle.’ That is one of those things the whole world has a vote in.

“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 because it became about race.”