Let us get this out in the open: We love Idris Elba.
From Stringer Bell in The Wire to John Luther in, well, Luther, nobody else can pull off effortlessly threatening charm quite like Elba.
Plus he's usually the best part of everything he's a part of. See: Pacific Rim, Thor, Finding Dory, Prometheus, Zootropolis, The Jungle Book.
Double-y plus, Macklemore is well aware that he has just about the greatest voice in the universe, which is why he got him to sing the chorus to this crazy catchy track:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9LAzNMn8Ow
Over the years, we've been hearing who should replace Daniel Craig once he steps out of 007's tux, and despite Elba being a perfect fit for the part, we've unfortunately heard responses that ranged from ageism (despite Elba being 4 years younger than Craig, and several months younger than Ben Affleck, who plays Batman by the way!) and out-and-out racism.
And it turns out that Bond isn't the only big role that Elba has missed out on.
He is currently on the promotional trail for his new drama The Mountain Between Us, in which he stars alongside Kate Winslett as a plane-crash survivor, when he was asked if there were other major characters he didn't get the chance to play (via
People):
"I honestly love musicals. I auditioned for Beauty and the Beast. I really did, for Gaston. I called and said, ‘Listen, I want in!’ So somewhere they have a tape of me singing."
Beauty And The Beast is currently the biggest box office hit of 2017 ($1.262 billion. With a 'b'.), so is Elba a little bit jealous that Luke Evans got the part instead?
“No, only a little bit. No! I love you Luke, you know that."
Well, we love
you, Idris! And as much as Luke was great in the part, who wouldn't want to see Idris completely killing it in this scene?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkAaUd97mCU
