There have been rumors circulating for a while now that actor Idris Elba could be up for the role of James Bond when Daniel Craig leaves the franchise. Now I know that there will be those who consider a black Bond to be the greatest affront to life, liberty and the Queen since the rise of the Spice Girls. This is especially borne out by the alarming racist reactions to the casting of black actors in the HUNGER GAMES movie. I personally say balderdash to the naysayers because there are 3 black Brit actors that I think have all the necessary joie de vivre to pull off the role of Bond successfully.

IDRIS ELBA

Elba would, in my opinion, be the best actor to return Bond to the Sean Connery model. He can pull off suave just as well as he can pull off the hyper-masculine nature of Connery’s Bond. Elba also provides the physicality that the character has had while being portrayed by David Craig and anyone who has seen Elba in the BBC series LUTHER knows that he can pull off intensity with ease. I would put Elba at the top of any list of actors who were being considered for the role regardless of skin color.

CHIWETEL EJIOFOR

Ejiofor would bring a more cerebral and dignified flavor to Bond I think. The guy is an amazing actor with an incredible range but when considering how he would be as Bond I keep going back to the performance he gave as The Operative in SERENITY. He was very cold and ruthless but he had this charismatic charm and dignity to him. That would be an awesome angle to take with the Bond character.

LENNIE JAMES

I consider James to be one of the most underrated actors in the business. He has been amazing in everything I have ever seen him in from SNATCH to JERICHO to THE WALKING DEAD. I think James would make a great Bond specially with his knack of making his characters seem both friendly and engaging but also with an underlying air of danger at the same time. That quirky mix of intelligence, danger and humor that he is so good at conveying would be a perfect fit for a new Bond plus he is pretty spiffy when it comes to action scenes too.