After all of the racism floating around Hollywood, namely Sony, with the North Korean hacking scandal, it seems that Black actors in Hollywood might be catching a break as two could be up for major roles in completely white series.
Award-winning actor Idris Elba’s name has been brought up repeatedly in talks of who should reprise the role of the next James Bond. While that buzz has been bouncing around Hollywood for years, it appears to have picked up urgency when Amy Pascal, the Sony chairwoman who has received the most flack during the hacking, endorsed the British actor taking over Daniel Craig’s position, saying “Idris should be the next Bond.” Bond is a Sony franchise.
Elba has agreed that if the opportunity arose, he would accept it.
On an Ask Me Anything chat on Reddit, a user asked Elba if he would play Bond, to which the actor responded. “Yes, if it was offered to me, absolutely.”
Elba has never shied away from playing characters of different races, even to the public’s dismay.
Many racists were unhappy when they saw Elba playing Heimdall, a Norse god, in the Thor films. He responded to the UK press saying:
“There has been a big debate about it: can a Black man play a Nordic character? Hang about, Thor’s mythical, right? Thor has a hammer that flies to him when he clicks his fingers. That’s OK, but the colour of my skin is wrong? I think that’s a sign of the times for the future. I think we will see multi-level casting. I think we will see that, and I think that’s good.”
The Star Wars films have reportedly added some color to their films as well. The first shot of the teaser for Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens with actor John Boyega in a stormtrooper uniform.
Some fans embraced Boyega, happy to finally see some diversity in the classic film series, and as expected, some bigoted people were not as excited.
The 22-year-old responded in a way similar to Elba. He first thanked his fans, writing on Instagram:
“Thank you for all the love and support! The fan mail and fan art has added to my joy! Isn’t it crazy that Star Wars is actually happening? I’m in the movie but as a star wars fan I am very excited.”
And then he added:
“To whom it may concern… Get used to it,” and completed the post with a smile.
