\n<\/p>\n
Idris Elba has said it was never “realistic” that he’d be cast as James Bond, as global audiences wouldn’t have accepted a Black version of the character.<\/p>\n
Speaking to GQ, Elba addressed long-running speculation that he could be cast as the next incarnation of the infamous British spy (something he recently distanced himself from, and said he was now “too old” to play back in 2016). But while insisting he was “complimented” to be linked with the role, Elba suggested it would have never actually happened.<\/p>\n
“I’ve always felt that it’s not a realistic thing,” Elba said. “James Bond was written how he was written for a reason. But I was complimented by it. And also, I think, in realistic terms, some markets just don’t go for that. <\/p>\n
“Bond is big all over the world,” he continued. “And [audiences] won’t [all] go for a Black male, an African male, playing Bond. That’s not what they like in their culture. Period.”<\/p>\n