At this point, Idris Elba probably doesn’t even want to play James Bond. During a year of speculation, Elba has continually denied even being in the running, but now the author of the most recent Bond book, Trigger Mortis, has really stuck his foot in his mouth.
Anthony Horowitz, in an interview with the Daily Mail, didn’t give Elba a thumbs-up approval for the role. Instead, Horowitz seems to think Elba is too rough to play the part, even though he called him a terrific actor.
“Idris Elba is a terrific actor, but I can think of other black actors who would do it better,” he said. “For me, Idris Elba is a bit too rough to play the part. It’s not a color issue. I think he is probably a bit too ‘street’ for Bond. Is it a question of being suave? Yeah.”
Wait.
So Horowitz doesn’t think Elba is suave? He thinks he’s “too street.” Is that code for “too black”? It’s Horowitz who isn’t the “suave” one, according to Twitter:
https://twitter.com/inurashii/status/638679063004073984https://twitter.com/stelcoco/status/638678788579160064https://twitter.com/THECAROLDANVERS/status/638677808059928577https://twitter.com/DestructoKitteh/status/638677761918414848https://twitter.com/THECAROLDANVERS/status/638676513185992704
You know what? Elba doesn’t need Bond. Bond needs him.