Denzel Washington is being added to the list of potential candidates who may portray the smooth, charming, debonair James Bond.
The possibility of a black actor playing the role of James Bond is not a new one, with fans having considered the idea for many years now.
Washington was endorsing his latest film, The Equalizer, on a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” chat and there revealed his interest in playing the role.
“The next James Bond? They better hurry up!” He wrote, replying to one fan’s question, and suggested everybody tweet “Denzel is James Bond!”
“We start the Denzel is Bond campaign today!” he said. “James Washington. Denzel Bond!” Fans immediately started talking about it, using the Twitter hashtag #DenzelIsJamesBond.
Among other things, the Training Day actor was asked why he has never hosted Saturday Night Live, to which he responded: “That’s a good question! I need to do that!”
“Call NBC and tell them Denzel needs to host!” he added.
Even with thousands of people toying with the idea of having a black actor play the intelligence agent, the term “Black Bond” doesn’t sit with many, including The Wire actor Idris Elba, who is also considered by many as a great bet for the role.
During an appearance on ITV’s Lorraine last January, Elba revealed his extreme dislike towards the popular phrase, saying that he doesn’t understand the phrase.
“We don’t say ‘White Bond’, we just say ‘Bond’,” he quips. “So it suddenly becomes a black man and he’s a ‘Black Bond.’”
Do you think Denzel Washington would make a good James Bond? Tell us what you think in the comments.