It's a difficult position to put myself into: Idris Elba on playing James Bond

Actor Idris Elba says even if he gets the chance to portray the famed British spy, James Bond, people would still judge him on the basis of his skin colour and not his performance. The actor has been in contention for the part for the longest time with many people hoping that when the current 007, Daniel Craig, hangs his boots, Elba would take over.

"James Bond is a hugely coveted, iconic, beloved character, that takes audiences on this massive escapism journey. Of course, if someone said to me 'Do you want to play James Bond?' I'd be like, 'Yeah! That's fascinating to me'. But it's not something I've expressed, like, 'Yeah, I wanna be the black James Bond'," Elba told Vanity Fair. The 46-year-old actor said there will always be some people who would have objections to his portrayal of the fictional character because of his skin colour and therefore, he would not want to venture into that space.

"You just get disheartened when you get people from a generational point of view going, 'It can't be'. And it really turns out to be the colour of my skin. And then if I get it and it didn't work, or it did work, would it be because of the colour of my skin? That's a difficult position to put myself into when I don't need to," Elba added. The character will be up for grabs after Craig is done with upcoming "Bond 25", which will mark his fifth and final outing as 007. However, it is now almost certain that Elba will not be contending for it.