Recently, Idris Elba admitted that he was never really in contention to play James Bond, despite the public push for it, and he thinks that’s OK.

Still out there talking up “Masters of the Universe,” the British actor recently sat down with GQ and said his name first came up after Barack Obama’s victory in the 2008 U.S. presidential election.

At the same time, incumbent Bond star Daniel Craig suggested that it was time for a Black actor to take on the role. Elba says “it was never legit. It was always just a rumor.” Nonetheless, people ran with that rumour for nearly 20 years.

By the time Craig finished his run, Elba had aged out with the actor now 53 and producers currently looking to actors much younger.

He tells the magazine that he understands if he played Bond, he would not be accepted in certain parts of the world and the character should stay the same:

“I’ve always felt that it’s not a realistic thing. James Bond was written how he was written for a reason. But I was complimented by it. And also, I think, in realistic terms, some markets just don’t go for that.

Bond is big all over the world. And [audiences] won’t [all] go for a Black male, an African male, playing Bond. That’s not what they like in their culture. Period.

Bond is so unrealistic, so a hint of reality is good, but let’s not try and make it woke. I think you’ve got to be pure to what it is: escapism. Don’t try and answer the world’s taste. Just be Bond.”

Casting director Nina Gold (“Game of Thrones,” “The Crown”) and filmmaker Denis Villeneuve are currently in the process of casting the new Bond for Amazon MGM Studios with actors in their late 20s and early 30s being considered.