# I like the idea of Black James Bond. Idris Elba, anyone? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies, actor-characters\ **Created:** [September 9, 2014, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-the-idea-of-black-james-bond-idris-elba-anyone/697994 "2014-09-09T18:55:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2018, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-the-idea-of-black-james-bond-idris-elba-anyone/697994/101 "2018-08-23T16:34:08Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > No it’s not. The UK is only a lilly white nation in the misty eyes of American Jane Austen enthusiasts. And demographic statistics. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2018, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-the-idea-of-black-james-bond-idris-elba-anyone/697994/102 "2018-08-23T16:38:24Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > And demographic statistics. 20% of the UK is not white. That is not a small number of people. Given how many white Bonds we’ve had so far, then it looks like it’s time. And the conversation around ‘could the next James Bond be black’ happens in the UK just as much as in the US. Your ‘American lens’ idea is false. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2018, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-the-idea-of-black-james-bond-idris-elba-anyone/697994/103 "2018-08-23T16:45:01Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > I was specifically addressing “it’s time for a Black Bond” talk. Indeed, and I was pointing out that Africans aren’t the only people who are black. There are other races who are black beyond those I mentioned too. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2018, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-the-idea-of-black-james-bond-idris-elba-anyone/697994/104 "2018-08-23T16:46:52Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Sure, they could do it but I don’t really get the “why”. The answer to this is pretty much the answer to any question of this nature - money. The Bond franchise is 60+ years old, and occasionally needs revitalization. Tone changes from gritty to sophisticated, bigger and better villains, killing off major characters, and recasting the lead character are regular occurrences. If they owners of Bond think that a major shakeup like casting a black Englishman (or an Australian, Welshman, Irishman) in the role would make money and make for interesting films, they will do it. We’ve traveled so far from the original source material that I really don’t think a change like this would have a significant impact on the franchise. What matters is whether or not the movie is good. Yes, Ian Flemming imagined the character as a white Scotsman, but times change. Enough else has been changed about the character over the years that his ethnicity doesn’t seem critical to the essence of the role. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2018, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-the-idea-of-black-james-bond-idris-elba-anyone/697994/105 "2018-08-23T17:18:20Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > 20% of the UK is not white. That is not a small number of people. Given how many white Bonds we’ve had so far, then it looks like it’s time. > > And the conversation around ‘could the next James Bond be black’ happens in the UK just as much as in the US. Your ‘American lens’ idea is false. According to the 2011 census, 87% “White”. In the big cities it’s a much lower percentage, so maybe it’s a London lens. Do you agree that South Asians make up a far higher proportion of the population? ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2018, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-the-idea-of-black-james-bond-idris-elba-anyone/697994/106 "2018-08-23T17:25:52Z")
And you switched around the statement I was addressing. “Could the next James Bond be black” is different than "It’s time for a black James Bond ". ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-the-idea-of-black-james-bond-idris-elba-anyone/697994/107 "2023-07-02T20:37:24Z")
Bumped. Can’t say I blame him: > **[Idris Elba Got Turned Off From Playing James Bond When ‘It Became About...](https://www.aol.com/entertainment/idris-elba-got-turned-off-195154049.html)** > > Bond rumors have been following Idris Elba around for many years, but the actor admitted during a recent interview on the “SmartLess” podcast that he got turned off from the idea of pla… ---
**Author:** ![Loggins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Loggins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loggins)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2023, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-the-idea-of-black-james-bond-idris-elba-anyone/697994/108 "2023-07-09T18:04:47Z")
I didnt think the OP thought that a black actor nescessarily should have the role, but a new type of actor. Wish it was Elba, but hes getting too old? ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-the-idea-of-black-james-bond-idris-elba-anyone/697994/109 "2023-07-10T06:42:02Z")
Thing is, Bond’s white privilege is practically a character by itself. If he doesn’t act douche-y and condescending to Jamaicans on his frequent visits there, he isn’t really Bond. For all his working class pretentions, Bond defends the British class system as much as he defends the actual island. I’d like to see a movie about a Black agent in the double-O program who isn’t being promoted as quickly as his smug white peers, gets left behind from some clubby social function, and is the only one (along with Naomie Harris) at the office to handle the mother of all emergencies in their absence. THAT would be a good movie. Use the dreadlocked guy from those old Tanqueray ads as the star! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-the-idea-of-black-james-bond-idris-elba-anyone/697994/110 "2023-07-10T12:14:39Z")
Ya, for King and Country, mon! ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-the-idea-of-black-james-bond-idris-elba-anyone/697994/111 "2023-07-10T12:30:29Z")
> [@Loggins](#): > > I didnt think the OP thought that a black actor nescessarily should have the role, but a new type of actor. Wish it was Elba, but hes getting too old? He’s 50. He was perfectly serviceable as an action star in “The Suicide Squad,” and he’d be fine as Bond now, but the problem is that when they cast a Bond they want a guy who will last for 3-5 movies at least. That means you’d have Elba playing Bond maybe when he’s 60, which is not ideal. In “we should cast so and so as this or that character” the hoi polloi generally don’t have good ideas, anyway; we tend to default to already very famous people like Idris Elba. We don’t know the 1000 other excellent candidates a casting expert will screen for the role. Had you asked a million fans in 1978 who should play Superman not one of them would have said Christopher Reeve but thousands would have said Burt Reynolds. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-the-idea-of-black-james-bond-idris-elba-anyone/697994/112 "2023-07-10T12:49:46Z")
At this point in time, if I was the casting agent, I’d be taking a serious look at British actors of South Asian decent. They already play a prominent role in the upper echelons of British society (hey [Rishi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/30/Official_Portrait_of_Prime_Minister_Rishi_Sunak_%28crop_with_flag%29.jpg/440px-Official_Portrait_of_Prime_Minister_Rishi_Sunak_%28crop_with_flag%29.jpg)!), and in the current geo-political climate, I’d be very surprised if the real Mi6 recruiters aren’t actively targeting South Asian Brits as spies. Dev Patel has matured into a proper hottie and Riz Ahmed still looks the part. Of course Regé-Jean Page would also make a very popular choice: [![](https://media.glamourmagazine.co.uk/photos/626130cd93df91c8f309a6ca/16:9/w_2560%2Cc_limit/REGE%2520JEAN%2520PAGE%2520HARRY%2520POTTER%2520210422%2520%2520%2520GettyImages-1388109881_SF.jpg) ](https://media.glamourmagazine.co.uk/photos/626130cd93df91c8f309a6ca/16:9/w_2560%2Cc_limit/REGE%2520JEAN%2520PAGE%2520HARRY%2520POTTER%2520210422%2520%2520%2520GettyImages-1388109881_SF.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-the-idea-of-black-james-bond-idris-elba-anyone/697994/113 "2023-07-10T12:59:05Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Dev Patel has matured into a proper hottie and Riz Ahmed still looks the part. Riz Ahmed is a bit short to play James Bond, I’d think, but Dev Patel is six-two. He’s also younger - he’s only 33 - so he’d be all set for a long string of movies. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-the-idea-of-black-james-bond-idris-elba-anyone/697994/114 "2023-07-10T13:11:10Z")
I’m glad Elba isn’t interested because no matter what, he’ll have more interesting roles. The whole Bond franchise was played out when Roger Moore took over. Let some unknown be the next 007. Idris Elba would have been great but not because he’s black. He can play cool and sophisticated, and also handle the demands of action scenes. You know else might be interesting in the part? Damien Lewis. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-the-idea-of-black-james-bond-idris-elba-anyone/697994/115 "2023-07-10T13:19:50Z")
I almost think Damien Lewis is too big for the part - too ‘Damien Lewis’. I also think he’s pushing it age-wise. I’ve heard rumours about Tom Hiddlestone - he would certainly represent an abrupt left turn back to suave after the rougher edge Craig brought to the part. ---
**Author:** ![B.Serum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/b.serum/32/14266_2.png) [@B.Serum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Serum)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-the-idea-of-black-james-bond-idris-elba-anyone/697994/116 "2023-07-10T13:42:59Z")
Huddleston’s lean physique would be a very close approximation of Fleming’s original description of Bond, who is said to resemble Hoagy Carmichael, with a thin scar running down his right cheek. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-the-idea-of-black-james-bond-idris-elba-anyone/697994/117 "2023-07-10T14:03:51Z")
I don’t think they can go back to a suave Bond. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-the-idea-of-black-james-bond-idris-elba-anyone/697994/118 "2023-07-10T14:36:40Z")
Why not!? They can’t just get grungier and grungier. There’s plenty of other roles that do that. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2023, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-the-idea-of-black-james-bond-idris-elba-anyone/697994/119 "2023-07-10T18:15:28Z")
I feel it couldn’t be done without it feeling like a parody made of extremely tired material. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2023, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-the-idea-of-black-james-bond-idris-elba-anyone/697994/120 "2023-07-11T11:40:23Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > Thing is, Bond’s white privilege is practically a character by itself. If he doesn’t act douche-y and condescending to Jamaicans on his frequent visits there, he isn’t really Bond. For all his working class pretentions, Bond defends the British class system as much as he defends the actual island. > > I’d like to see a movie about a Black agent in the double-O program who isn’t being promoted as quickly as his smug white peers, gets left behind from some clubby social function, and is the only one (along with Naomie Harris) at the office to handle the mother of all emergencies in their absence. THAT would be a good movie. Use the dreadlocked guy from those old Tanqueray ads as the star! Yeah, instead of trying to “multicolor coat” Bond by hiring a non snooty white actor, they incorporate the social commentary into the historical context of the character. Much in the same way the addressed Bond’s inherent misogyny by bringing on a female M or the way the MCU addressed how Steve Rogers is good man who is still a product of a military that was still segregated by race when he served. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-the-idea-of-black-james-bond-idris-elba-anyone/697994.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-like-the-idea-of-black-james-bond-idris-elba-anyone/697994.md?page=7)