'Sicario' star Daniel Kaluuya defends Idris Elba for James Bond role

British actor Daniel Kaluuya delivers his breakthrough Hollywood film performance as an FBI agent in the upcoming action thriller 'Sicario'...

British star Daniel Kaluuya delivers his breakthrough Hollywood film performance as an FBI agent in the upcoming action thriller Sicario.

Kaluuya stars alongside Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro, and Josh Brolin in a film that centers on the United States’ involvement in cracking down on drug trafficking from Mexico.

In an interview with theGrio, the 26-old-old actor opened up about how he landed his role in Sicario by simply sending the film’s director, Denis Villeneuve, a video-taped monologue.

“I literally sent 1 tape for the audition. The director really liked me, so he really pushed for me,” Kaluuya recalled.

Sicario includes an intense showdown with FBI agents at Texas’ border with Mexico.

Kaluuya weighed in on the hot political topic (currently championed by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump) of building an impenetrable wall along the U.S.-Mexico frontier to keep out illegal Mexican migrants.

“I feel like [the U.S.] is a country; the foundation of it is built on the fact that other people tried to make it great from the outside,” Kaluuya said. “I find it very strange. I find Donald Trump a strange thing. I come from England, and [Trump] is a joke in England. You come here and people are taking him seriously. I refuse to take him seriously.”

Lastly Kaluuya discussed the backlash that British writer Anthony Horowitz recently received after saying Idris Elba is “too street” to play James Bond (a remark Horowitz later apologized for making).

“I laughed. He’s an actor. I don’t know what that means to be ‘too street.’ Obviously that’s a quite loaded comment. I don’t think believe [Horowitz] intended to offend. That’s just his viewpoint and how he sees it. But Idris is a very versatile actor. I’ve seen a lot of his work. He can do anything, and he is positioned to take on a role like that. Why couldn’t he play James Bond? I don’t see him as black’ I see him as Idris.”

Sicario hits select theaters September 18 and can be see in theaters nationwide October 2. 

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