James Bond author says Idris Elba ‘too street’ to play 007
Donna Dickens
September 01, 2015
Another day, another white dude talking about James Bond in coded racism. Today’s contestant is none other than author Anthony Horowitz. The British novelist was recently commissioned by the estate of Ian Fleming to pen a new James Bond novel. “Trigger Mortis” is set to drop on September 8th and, as such, Horowitz has been making the press rounds.
During an interview with the The Daily Mail, Horowitz declared “Skyfall” as the worst Bond film ever for daring to show Bond as vulnerable and human. He then went on to give his opinion of Idris Elba as 007.
I bet you can guess where this is going.
“For me, Idris Elba is a bit too rough to play the part. It’s not a colour issue. I think he is probably a bit too “street” for Bond. Is it a question of being suave? Yeah.”
Much like calling someone urban, the use of “street” in this instance has some very strong undertones. How exactly is Idris Elba too rough and unsophisticated for the role of James Bond?
Was Idris “too rough” as Luther when he stared down death in one of the most intense scenes of the show?
I like Idris. He's one of my favorite actors. I just can't see him being bond. I associate that character with a white british actor. The same reason I can't see a white guy playing shaft. In fact, they could do that with Idris. Only this time Idris has to hook up with a couple of ladies, not just some killing machine in the sam Jackson version.
I'd love to see a black Bond. It works for me. But, the whole thing would have to be black. He couldn't be a black Bond in a white Britian (world). I guess he wouldn't be Bond then, would he?
Idris Elba, 'James Bond' Update: Actor Ignores ‘Too Street’ Comment From Anthony Horowitz, Remains Silent
By Maria Vultaggio @mariamzzarella m.vultaggio@ibtimes.com on September 01 2015 7:23 PM EDT
The Twitterverse erupted Tuesday when “James Bond” author Anthony Horowitz said “Prometheus” actor Idris Elba was “too street” to replace Daniel Craig as Agent 007. While some fans say Elba should be in every movie, other people labeled Horowitz’s comment as racist.
Even though Horowitz apologized for his comment, Elba, 42, remained silent. He’s relatively active on social media, with 1.5 million Twitter followers and 272,000 Instagram followers.
The last time he shared something on social media was a day before Horowitz made his offensive comment. He posted a picture of several cars piled up on a tree trunk. “A lot of junk on that trunk,” the English star captioned the photo. The picture received nearly 3,600 likes and garnered dozens of comments.
Though he hasn’t issued a statement yet, Elba posts to Twitter several times a week on average, and may respond to Horowitz’s apology by the end of the week.
Even though Horowitz originally said Elba is “too street” to play Bond, the actor might be too busy to commit to the popular film franchise anyway. He’s currently making several films.
Elba is lending his voice to the cartoon villain Shere Khan in the revamp of “The Jungle Book;” his vocals will also appear in “Finding Dory,” an offshoot of “Finding Nemo;” and he is in the middle of filming “Star Trek Beyond,” according to the Internet Movie Database.
The comment that originally upset people was Horowitz telling the U.K.’s Daily Mail Elba wasn’t suave enough to follow in Craig’s footsteps. “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.”
James Bond author Anthony Horowitz apologizes for saying actor Idris Elba is 'too street' to be 007
Posted: 7:29 AM, Sep 2, 2015
LONDON - The author of the new James Bond novel apologized on Tuesday after he said that British actor Idris Elba is "too street" to play 007.
In an interview with the Daily Mail newspaper published over the weekend, Anthony Horowitz, the author of the new Bond novel "Trigger Mortis," said Elba is "too 'street' for Bond."
Elba, 42, has been rumored to be among the actors considered to replace Daniel Craig as the next Bond. He would be the first black actor to play the spy should he be cast.
"Idris Elba is a terrific actor, but I can think of other black actors who would do it better," Horowitz was quoted saying. "It's not a color issue ... Is it a question of being suave? Yeah."
Horowitz said Tuesday he was thinking of Elba's gritty detective role in the BBC crime drama "Luther" during the interview, and didn't mean to cause offense.
"In the article I expressed the opinion that to my mind Adrian Lester would be a better choice but I'm a writer not a casting director so what do I know?" he said in a statement that was posted to his Twitter account.
It looks like Horowitz was type-casting Idris based off the Luther series (a damn-good series, imo).
Luther, played by Idris was a layered character. Luther was rough because of the world he inhabited. The criminals Luther hunted were incredibly depraved. The series was just dark.
Ironically, many felt Moore & Bronson were too soft to play Bond. Roger Ebert particularly was not impressed with Bronson.
I think Idris would be more in line with Sean Connery's portray of Bond.