Conservative talk show radio host Rush Limbaugh is far from happy about Sony mulling over the prospect of Idris Elba becoming the next James Bond. Limbaugh believes that James Bond should always be “white and Scottish.”
“James Bond is a total concept put together by Ian Fleming,” Limbaugh said. “He was white and Scottish, period. That is who James Bond is.”
“We’ve had 50 years of White Bonds because Bond is white. Bond was never black. Ian Fleming never created a black Brit to play James Bond.”
Limbaugh argued the absurdity of casting a black James Bond stating that it would be comparable to casting white actors to the play President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.
“Sometimes, a story is just a story. But we can always make it better. We can always be more fair. We can always be more equal about it. So, fine and dandy. George Clooney and Kate Hudson as Barack and Michelle Obama, and you can have Idris Elba as James Bond.”
Despite his ramblings, the current James Bond, Daniel Craig, was born in Liverpool, England — not Scotland. In fact, there hasn’t been a Scottish James Bond since Sean Connery in 1983 when he reprised his role in Never Say Never .
James Bond has also been portrayed by an Australian actor, George Lazenby, and Pierce Brosnan, a native of Ireland. According to his novels , Ian Fleming’s James Bond was actually born in Zurich, Switzerland, not Scotland.
Idris Elba has not been confirmed for the Bond role, however; the hack against Sony Pictures Entertainment revealed that the company’s co-chair, Amy Pascal, recommended the Elba for the role to an executive at Columbia Pictures, the distributor of the James Bond series.
When asked if he would be willing accepted the role if asked he said, “Yes, if it was offered to me, absolutely.”
Idris Elba is notably known for his role as a drug dealer ‘Stringer’ Bell in The Wire and Detective John Luther in BBC’s Luther . Many believe that Elba would be the stand-out choice to replace Daniel Craig.
Columbia’s contract with the current Bond, Daniel Craig, runs out following the release of the next installment, Spectre , in November 2015.
Is Idris Elba the right fit for the next 007 despite Rush Limbaugh’s complaint?
[Image via Google Images]
