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Idris Elba as Bond? Yes please

By April MacIntyre Oct 1, 2011, 14:33 GMT

09/18/2011 - Idris Elba - HBO\'s 2011 Emmy After Party - Arrivals - Pacific Design Center - West Hollywood, CA, USA © Tina Gill / PR Photos

Idris Elba is a dashing British actor who stars in the BBC drama/thriller "Luther."

But he may be a future James Bond if the actor gets the nod from franchise producers.

Elba was interviewed by NPR about the Bond scuttle:

"It's a rumor...It's a very old rumor. My dad and I were talking about this the other day. I would do it, but I don't want to be called the first black James Bond. Do you understand what I 'm saying? Sean Connery wasn't the Scottish James Bond and Daniel Craig wasn't the blue-eyed James Bond. So if I played him, I don't want to be called the black James Bond."

Elba wants to be known as an actor, period, not marginilized by his race.

On HBO's "The wire" he played Stringer Bell, who Elba paints as "a smart drug dealer, in my opinion. He's black, but that's not the point. The point is, this is a man caught between two worlds. That complex sort of balance that he's in is what made the drama."

His portrayal of flawed detective John Luther has gripped audiences in the USA and the UK: "Luther has this capability to think how his perpetrators are thinking, and what they may or may not do next. And I think Luther lives quite close to rage himself," the actor told NPR.

As for Bond, Elba added, "if Sony decided to call me and said hey, we wanted to do [James Bond], I'd definitely consider it."