The name’s Elba. Idris Elba. And rumour has it he is set to play James Bond when Daniel Craig hangs up his licence to kill after the upcoming 25th 007 film.
The Luther actor is well aware he’s tipped to play Bond and cracked a joke about the rumours while hosting US comedy show Saturday Night Live.
Appearing in spoof game show Can I Play That?, Elba and the SNL cast had to answer whether they could play a role based on their demographic – a clear wink to the controversy whether Will Smith was too light-skinned to be cast as Serena and Venus Williams's father in an upcoming movie.
During the game, Elba’s character gets a number of questions wrong, with the actor apparently not a demographic fit to play an alien, Lion King’s Zazu or a blind person ("God took their sight, and now you want to take their jobs?" remarked Kenan Thompson's game show host character).
At the end of the skit, the host tells the audience they’ll return after a quick break, adding: "We'll return with our final round: Can You Play James Bond?”
It’s then Elba’s character shouts out: "Hey, I know the answer to that one!”
To which the host replies: “Do you though?”
This isn't the first time Elba has teased the Bond rumours. In January 2019 he posted a picture of himself with Craig at the Golden Globes with the word “awks” added over the image.
Whether or not we’ll see Elba in action on behalf of Her Majesty’s secret service, we are set to him in new Netflix comedy Turn Up Charlie.
The show, which Elba co-created, sees the actor playing a failing DJ who’s forced to become a ‘manny’ for a troublesome child.
