Bond casting rumor ignites debate over character’s race


A persistent casting rumor has left the James Bond fan base shaken and stirred.

For the past few months, speculation has been swirling around British actor Idris Elba as a potential replacement for current 007 Daniel Craig if and when the Skyfall star decides to hand over the keys to the Aston Martin. Craig, of course, still has two movies left on his contract, including this November’s feverishly anticipated Spectre, but facts have never stopped the online hoi polloi before. In this case, however, such excitement is well founded. After all, if Elba lands the role, he’ll be the first-ever black actor to don the tux.

The 42-year-old thespian, best known to U.S. audiences for his critically lauded performance as drug-dealing businessman Stringer Bell on HBO’s The Wire and brief but memorable appearances in blockbusters such as the Thor series and Pacific Rim, has been touted as Craig’s likely successor ever since his name first appeared in a leaked email written by Amy Pascal, the now-former chairwoman of Sony Pictures, during last winter’s heavily publicized hacking scandal. The missive in question was addressed to Elizabeth Cantillon, the former executive vice president of production at Columbia Pictures — the same studio that distributes the Bond series. That link was all the fans needed to start roaring their approval or airing their concerns over the notion of making Bond, often described as an avatar for swaggering cultural imperialism, a non-white character.

Such complaints might seem racist — and some of them undoubtedly are — but it’s important to remember that every potential new Bond has faced a ridiculous amount of scrutiny, both from fans and the franchise’s equally merciless producers. Craig himself was ridiculed for his blond hair, blue eyes and alleged inability to drive a stick shift prior to the release of Casino Royale in 2006. Pierce Brosnan was initially dismissed as a “pretty boy.” Timothy Dalton’s Shakespearean background worked against him. Roger Moore was denounced as a snobby, cartoonish fop. George Lazenby was condemned for being an Australian male model with no previous acting experience. Even Sean Connery, widely considered to be the best 007 of all time, had trouble convincing series creator Ian Fleming that he was the right man for the job. In fact, upon meeting Connery in 1961, the author famously remarked, “I’m looking for Commander Bond, not an over-grown stuntman.”

A debate like this has a way of exposing hypocrites or dragging in unsuspecting victims, depending on whom you ask. Last week, former 007 Roger Moore found himself at the center of a social media hate storm after the French weekly news magazine Paris Match quoted him as saying that Elba wasn’t “English-English” enough to pursue the Bond role, apparently ignoring the fact that Elba was born and bred in London. Moore took to Twitter to defend himself, explaining that his quote had been taken out of context and that he was actually referring to an old joke he had once made about Cuba Gooding, Jr. — a joke that referred to the Jerry Maguire actor’s nationality, not his race. Nevertheless, the damage was done, and the retired spy quickly learned that SPECTRE has nothing on today’s breed of Internet trolls.

Make no mistake, though: Whether it’s an origin story or a costume or the overarching continuity of a long-running series, it’s nearly always foolish to change something merely for the sake of changing it. The practice of “race-bending” beloved characters can range from the weirdly arbitrary — last December’s horrendous Annie remake — to the flat-out insulting — M. Night Shyamalan’s decision to cast white actors to play East Asian characters in his abortive live-action adaptation of The Last Airbender. One of the more egregious recent examples is Ridley Scott’s Exodus: Gods and Kings, a plodding biblical epic where hundreds of African and Middle Eastern actors were relegated to the sidelines while Christian Bale and Joel Edgerton gorged themselves on scenery as a gravel-throated Moses and a Ramses who wore more eyeliner than the bassist from Green Day.

If the new 007 is going to depart from Fleming’s literary canon — Bond’s ethnicity is explicitly described as being half Scottish, half Swedish in the pages of You Only Live Twice, which was itself a testament to the author’s improved opinion of Connery after seeing the film version of Dr. No — there needs to be a reason beyond a cynical desire to grab headlines by condescending to those who confuse pandering for progressive action.

The ideal reason for casting Elba would be that he is simply the best actor for the part, a scenario that seems likely, despite his relative age (he’s only five years younger than Craig). He is, after all, an internationally acclaimed performer with natural magnetism, an impressive range and years of experience working in large franchises. If he wins the role by trumping the competition — an impressive list that is said to include the likes of Michael Fassbender, Tom Hiddleston and Tom Hardy — then he will have earned his passage into one of the most exclusive fraternities in the world (only six members and counting so far). If he becomes the seventh, something tells me it won’t be hard to guess his preferred codename.

 

Landon McDonald is a graduate student studying public relations. His column, “Screen Break,” runs Fridays.

1 reply
  1. Debi Banerjee
    Debi Banerjee says:

    Why you are even bother by ‘gravely throated moses’? If its that bad just just leave it. Why you want the great coloured actors to be part of it? LOL. Or you are worried that people/children are just as dumb to see Christian Bale on screen and goes ‘Oh! Moses was exactly like that’. But if you think there are many coloured actors who could have chosen over Christian Bale then you are totally wrong. Not any white one also. Acting wise Christian Bale is such a talent that offering any role to him by anyone is justified. The final outcome is good or bad is a different question overall and in case of movies its subjective. My point is that if you are saying (rightfully so) while casting James Bond race should not be consider then you also should not judge any other film racially (or just to please others). Just don’t insult any Talent considering his race. Christian Bale’s talent and dedication can allow him play any role even by lapping black colour. And aren’t Will Smith, Eddie Murphy, Jamie Fox, Denzel Washington get more roles than many other white actors because of their talent and box-office credibility? In India at least we dont judge actors by their religion or caste or colour. Shahrukh Khan can play Hindu King Ashoka and Hrithik Rosahn can play Akbar the Great and both were loved by Hindu and Muslims alike (and criticized alike if they acted badly). You are welcome to have a research on this fact. So if Idris Elba should given to play a role only on basis of his talent then in comparison to Idris Elba’s talent Christian Bale was rightfully given the role of Moses (or any role). Keep up your campaigning, but dont insult any talented actor. Its just wrong.

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