For years and years now, we’ve seen the rumors that Idris Elba could be the next James Bond. It is a role that Elba said he’s not interested in playing, despite all of the traction.

In 2018, During the promotional tour of his directorial debut Yardie, Elba said he wouldn’t play Bond in the future. Quite pointedly, in response to the question about any possibility of taking on the role, Elba said, “No.”

Now, in a recent interview, the British actor is speaking candidly about the rumors, how they have impacted his viewpoint on potentially taking on the role and why he has consistently said he’s not interested.

Speaking with Vanity Fair, Elba explained, “You just get disheartened,” he told Vanity Fair. “When you get people from a generational point of view going, ‘It can’t be.’ And it really turns out to be the color of my skin. And then if I get it and it didn’t work, or it did work, would it be because of the color of my skin? That’s a difficult position to put myself into when I don’t need to. James Bond is a hugely coveted, iconic, beloved character, that takes audiences on this massive escapism journey. Of course, if someone said to me, ‘Do you want to play James Bond?,’ I’d be like, ‘Yeah!’ That’s fascinating to me.”

He went on to say, “But it’s not something I’ve expressed, like, ‘Yeah, I wanna be the black James Bond. Because, by the way, we’re talking about a spy. If you really want to break it down, the more less-obvious it is, the better.”

Elba stars in Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, which is out next month.

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