Idris Elba says racist backlash turned him off playing James Bond

Idris Elba was, up until recently, arguably the most favoured actor to become the next James Bond. He certainly still would be, if not for the fact that he himself confirmed that it’s not a role that he’s interested in.

Rumours of Elba taking on the role of 007 have been circulating for years at this point. In fact, the actor first acknowledged the suggestion back in April 2010 (thanks, Yahoo News), so it’s no wonder that the moment it was confirmed that No Time to Die was Daniel Craig’s final Bond movie, the internet began clamouring for Elba to get his chance.

Elba recently starred in Netflix's Luther: The Fallen Sun - take a look at the trailer below.

Earlier this year, Elba ruled himself out of Bond discussions once and for all when he said: “You know, a lot of people talk about another character that begins with J and ends with B, but I'm not going to be that guy. I'm going to be John Luther. That's who I am.”

As UNILAD reports, the actor has now opened up about one factor which played a part in his decision to step away from the potential role - the racist backlash. In a recent appearance on the SmartLess podcast alongside Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes, Elba revealed that despite being “super complimented” by many Bond fans’ enthusiasm for the idea of him becoming the next 007, the negative comments which were being made by “some corners” made the idea “off-putting” to him.

“Those that weren’t happy about the idea made the whole thing disgusting and off-putting, because it became about race,” he said. “It became about nonsense and I got the brunt of it.”

It's still not known who'll be the next actor to become James Bond.