I was thrilled about playing James Bond until racial issues cropped up – Idris Elba

Idris Elba has revealed that he was thrilled to be mentioned in discussions of a possible actor in the James Bond role until some people made it a race issue.

Speaking during a recent interview on the SmartLess podcast, Elba briefly spoke about the rumours that he could one day play the James Bond role. He said that when he first heard them, it was a huge compliment for him.

“The truth is, I was super complimented for a long time about this,” Elba said (via Variety). “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.”

However, Elba said that, while most corners of the world were thrilled about the idea, “some corners” were not, and it eventually made “the whole thing disgusting and off-putting” for the actor.

“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,” Elba added. “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.”

Whoever does end up playing Bond will have big shoes to fill, but fans won’t likely see a movie for some time.

“There isn’t a script, and we can’t come up with one until we decide how we’re going to approach the next film because, really, it’s a reinvention of Bond,” said longtime James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli last year. “We’re reinventing who he is, and that takes time. I’d say that filming is at least two years away.”