Idris Elba reveals what ‘puts him off’ from James Bond role

Idris Elba has recently revealed why he ruled himself out of James Bond role during appearance on Smartless podcast.

Elba, who was the primary contender for 007 movie, opened up on why he backed out from the iconic role.

Describing the offer to play the role as “the pinnacle” for his career, Elba said he would never have accepted the opportunity as it “became about race”.

“Those that weren’t happy about the idea made the whole thing disgusting and off-putting, because it became about race,” explained the actor.

Elba added, “It became about nonsense and I got the brunt of it.”

Currently, the actor can be seen in Apple TV+ new series, Hijack where he plays a passenger on a flight from Dubai to London that gets hijacked.

Meanwhile, it is reported that the event of the series, which runs for seven hours, “play out in real-time as authorities on the ground scramble for answers”.