Tom Hanks Weighs in on James Bond Casting: ‘I Would Issue a License to Kill to Idris Elba’

Naman Ramachandran
Updated ·2 min read
14

Tom Hanks is all for Idris Elba to play the next James Bond.

“Understand this, James Bond has a licence to kill. I would issue that licence to Idris Elba just based on the work that I’ve seen him do,” Hanks told BBC News.

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Hanks was speaking to BBC News to promote his first novel “The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece,” about the making of a big-budget Hollywood superhero movie, spanning 80 years of a changing America and featuring characters including a troubled soldier returning from war, a young boy with an artistic gift, an inspired and eccentric director, a pompous film star on the rise, a tireless production assistant and film crew members.

Hanks weighed in on the trend of publishing houses editing novels to make them more suitable for contemporary times, including Ian Fleming’s Bond series and the works of Roald Dahl.

“I’m of the opinion that we’re all grown-ups here. Let’s have faith in our own sensibilities as opposed to having somebody decide what we may or may not be offended by,” Hanks said. “Let me decide what I am offended by and what I’m not offended by. I would be against reading any book from any era that says ‘abridged due to modern sensitivities.'”

Regarding the character of the pompous film star in the novel, Hanks said: “I have pulled every single one of those moments of behavior myself on a set. Not everybody is at their best every single day on a motion picture set. I’ve had tough days trying to be a professional when my life has been falling apart in more ways than one and the requirement for me that day is to be funny, charming and loving – and it’s the last way I feel.”

“The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece” is released on May 9.

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