Dev Patel rejects being a ‘tokenistic’ diversity hire for brown James Bond

Dev Patel has been hailed as the perfect fit for the much-revered character of James Bond, with many arguing that he should be the next actor to take on the mantle of 007 forward.

However, the Newsroom star is not interested in the “tokenistic” diversity hire that his Bond role might be.

Talking to IndieWire, the Lion actor nominated Idris Elba to be roped in as the next James Bond instead of him.

"I mean, you don't want me blasting through a door with a Walther PPK to try to save you. I'll do the comedy version with Armando [Iannucci]. I just think the best person for the role is what it comes down to,” said Patel.

"I also don't want to be gifted a role, just because of the tokenistic nature of me being a garnish — 'Let's sprinkle some diversity into this!' That doesn't make me feel good either,” he went on to say.

"If it works for the story, and I feel like I can bring some truth out of this role or embody it well, then that's what it should come down to,” he added.

Treading further, the actor also spoke about his career skyrocketing after Danny Boyle gave him his big break with Academy Award winning film, The Slumdog Millionaire in 2008.

"I think it's a really positive time. There's so much more opportunity out there, and I'm very grateful for that. I think Armando is really keeping the doors open on this, and hopefully there's some other brave filmmakers that will follow in his footsteps,” said Patel.