The rigorous training that James Bond undergoes to achieve 00 status has been well documented in films over the years. What's less clear is what actors must to do prove they have the chops to play the suited secret agent, and convince the public they could take on the ultimate assassin.
First there was Tom Hardy's moped chase through South West London which, in a very 007 outcome, ended in his capturing the villain after pursuing him through gardens and across a building site.
This week it was the turn of Idris Elba to show off his real life secret agent capabilities, after a woman fainted in the audience of his new theatre production, Tree. Elba halted the performance at Upper Campfield Market Hall in Manchester on Wednesday evening to ensure the woman was quickly seen by a paramedic.
Speaking of his heroics, MIF’s artistic director John McGrath said that, “I believe that the lady is now well and fine but it was certainly helpful that Idris was there to help out with that.”
While Bond 25 (quite possibly, A Reason To Die) has its leading man, the question of who will take over from Daniel Craig still hangs in the balance. Elba, whose complicated history in relation to the role deserves a film in itself, is one of the longest serving frontrunners, with the question of whether he'll ever take on the role never fully going away.
The actor has gone along with the rampant rumour mill, posing for a photograph with Daniel Craig at the Golden Globes as well as dropping the James Bond theme tune while DJing in Ibiza. He's also been frank about the often dispiriting conversation surrounding 007 being played by a black actor, recently telling Vanity Fair, "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."
While this feels like this is a fairly conclusive full stop on him joining the franchise, the news he swooped to the rescue of a woman in distress will surely restart the campaign for him to get the keys to the DB5.
