Photo: Variety
After plenty of rumors and despite all the “Elba. Idris, Elba” jokes we could muster, actor Idris Elba officially shut down the idea of being the first black man to play the iconic role of James Bond.
While traveling to promote Yardie, his directorial debut, a Good Morning Britain reporter directly asked the star if he would take on the role of 007. Elba gave a firm “No.” However, he did answer the reporter’s “Shaken or stirred?” question with a joking, “Stir fried, actually.”
The rumors of Elba taking over as the famous spy first surfaced in 2014, during the Sony Pictures email leaks. A leaked email from senior executive Amy Pascal included her thought that “Idris should be the next Bond.”
This may be the most direct answer he has given to the question, but it is not the first time he has addressed the idea of playing Bond. Earlier this month, he tweeted “my name’s Elba, Idris Elba,” but followed it four hours later with another tweet saying “Don’t believe the HYPE.”
His Good Morning Britain comment came in the wake of another Bond news bombshell — Danny Boyle will no longer direct Bond 25. According to a statement on the official James Bond website, Boyle left due to “creative differences.”
h/t: People
