Idris Elba has revealed that he was once “nearly lost [his] life” whilst held up at gunpoint trying to protect the gunman’s girlfriend.
The British actor, 50, recalled things escalating after he tried to intervene in an argument between a couple outside a club.
“I nearly lost my f–king life, after attempting to stop a man threatening his girlfriend outside a club,” the “Luther” actor told Daily Mail.
“A guy [was] whaling on his missus, screaming in her face, ‘I’ll f–king kill you,’ and so on. I come round and I go, ‘Look how beautiful she is. Why would you talk to this beautiful princess like that?’”
“He pulled out a gun, stuck it right in my face, and goes, ‘You talking about my girl?’ He thought I was trying to hit on her,” he went on.
“I remember thinking, ‘Don’t play negotiations like that… Consequences, man.’”
Near-death experiences aside, Elba last month opened up about the prospect of taking on the role of James Bond.
The Brit has been a fan-favorite choice to play the super spy in recent years, but due to the racial recoil he’s received about the possible role, Elba’s speculative casting has left a bad taste in his mouth.
Appearing on the “SmartLess” podcast, Elba told hosts Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes that he was “super complimented” by the Bond rumors, but the backlash tainted the possibility for him.
“I was like, ‘This is crazy!’ Because James Bond… We’re all actors and we understand that role. It’s one of those coveted [roles],” Elba explained.
“Being asked to be James Bond was like, ‘Okay, you’ve sort of reached the pinnacle,’” he went on. “That’s one of those things the whole world has a vote in.”
Elba noted that at first, “it was a huge compliment” that many people “were really happy about the idea that I could be considered.”
“Those that weren’t happy about the idea made the whole thing disgusting and off-putting, because it became about race. It became about nonsense, and I got the brunt of it,” he added.
Daniel Craig has played the martini-lover since 2006’s “Casino Royale” until the last installment, 2021’s “No Time to Die.”
His successor has not yet been announced.
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