John Boyega believes a person of colour won’t ever bag the role of James Bond
(Picture: Dave Benett)John Boyega has said he would find it “very surprising” if a black actor was ever to secure the role of James Bond, as he made it clear he doesn’t ever see himself in the running.
As a British-born, 30-year-old actor with mighty career success already behind him, Boyega seems like a prime possible candidate for the 007 role.
The question of who will be the next James Bond still remains following Daniel Craig’s exit last year, as popular fan hopeful Idris Elba recently ruled himself out.
When asked if he ever considered himself playing Bond, Boyega claimed that producer Barbara Broccoli wouldn’t ever cast a person of colour for the iconic part.
The Star Wars actor said on Happy Sad Confused podcast: “I’m sorry but I’m black - I don’t know how. When you’re black, I don’t know how that goes.
“You as a white man grew up in a society as a white man and that’s normal. That’s normal to you. Even the mention of a black Bond is like ‘Oh, okay’.
“I don’t necessarily believe that but if that’s what they’re doing then that is very surprising to me. As an actor, you kind of just stay out of that conversation. But if it’s for you then maybe. But if not then you just enjoy it in a movie theatre like everyone else.”
In the 60 years since the first James Bond film starring Sir Sean Connery, five white actors went on to take on the film character, with Craig being last to step into the role in 2006.
Boyega knows all too well the hateful backlash that can come from taking on a classic movie role as a person of colour.
While he portrayed Finn in the Disney Star Wars trilogy from 2015 to 2019, the actor received racist trolling and felt at the time it “wasn’t a conversation he could bring up”.
After Disney publicly defended Obi-Wan Kenobi star Moses Ingram following the racist attacks she received online, Boyega felt this change, as he said he finally felt “peace” and that he was being protected.
He told Sirius XM: “Moses Ingram being protected makes me feel protected.
“It makes me feel like I am not the elephant in the room because when I started it, wasn’t really a conversation you could bring up. How they went through it was kind of like, ‘let’s just be silent.’”
