Idris Elba to ‘Lean Away’ from Acting to Focus on His Music Career

*Idris Elba is ready to put his acting career on hold and focus solely on his music career.

Speaking to Vanity Fair for the magazine’s 2022 Hollywood Issue, the Hollywood hunk said he hopes to “lean away from the acting work” and dedicate more time to music-making. 

“Some may think, ‘Well, it will be the death of your acting if your music’s s—.’ I’ve dealt with the internal struggle of that over the years. So now I’m at peace and I’ve chosen: This is what I’m doing, and I’m going to do it. Some will love it and some will hate it,” Elba said of pursuing music.

He added, “The thing about making music is it’s a very consuming process. It’s very difficult to shoot a movie and then go off into the studio or make a song. It’s like trying to build a soufflé while making a brick wall.”

READ MORE: ‘Bond’ Producers Confirm Idris Elba Still Being Considered to Play Next 007

Vanity Fair’s 28th annual Hollywood Issue@VanityFair pic.twitter.com/6FzASrXj7G

— Idris Elba (@idriselba) February 17, 2022

Elba, a DJ and founder of the music label 7Wallace Music, can next be seen in “Sonic the Hedgehog 2,” the fantasy feature film “Three Thousand Years of Longing,” and the survival thriller “Beast.” He’s also in the running to take over the role of James Bond.

In a recent interview on the Deadline Podcast, Bond executive producer Barbara Broccoli confirmed Elba is still being considered as the franchise’s next star.

“Well, we know Idris, we’re friends with him, and he’s a magnificent actor,” Broccoli said. “And, you know, it’s been part of the conversation, but it’s always difficult to have the conversation when you have someone in the seat. I think we have decided that until No Time to Die has had its run and Daniel has been able to — well, we’ve all been able to savour, reap the benefits of Daniel’s wonderful tenure, we’re not gonna think about, or talk about anybody else.”

Rumors of Elba playing Bond first started in 2014 when an email leaked from former Sony Pictures senior executive Amy Pascal noted that “Idris should be the next Bond.”

“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 color of my skin,” Elba previously said in response to the criticism about a Black man playing 007. “And then if I get it and it didn’t work, or it did work, would it be because of the color of my skin? That’s a difficult position to put myself into when I don’t need to.”

Elba admitted that he would love to play the iconic James Bond role if it was offered to him, but he’s not about to chase it.

“James Bond is a hugely coveted, iconic, beloved character, that takes audiences on this massive escapism journey,” he said. “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.’ Because, by the way, we’re talking about a spy. If you really want to break it down, the more less-obvious it is, the better.”

Daniel Craig made his Bond debut in 2006’s “Casino Royale,” and went on to portray the character in the following four installments, the latest of which was 2021’s “No Time to Die.” The film marked Craig’s farewell to the franchise.

Pierce Brosnan played Bond in the late ’80s/’90s.

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