Nigerian British actor Davido Oyetokunbo Oyelowo has made a name in the movie industry internationally, playing Martin Luther King Jr in 2014 historical drama film “Selma”. He also won the Ian Charleson Award for best performance by an actor under 30 in a classical play in 2001, in which he played King Henry VI in a stage play by the Royal Shakespeare Company. This was a landmark achievement, as Oyelowo was the first black man to ever play the role of the white English king. Now, the actor is gunning for the role of James Bond.
A Superhero
By clinching the role, the actor intends to create a superhero figure that black children the world over can identify with.
“The significance of someone like me playing a role like James Bond is not lost on me. It is going to be something that will expand horizons.
One of the most beautiful things I have seen in America on Halloween is white kids running around in Black Panther costumes. I did not have a superhero to identify with growing up on a council estate in Islington. It was all Superman. That these things are very important is not lost on me.”
– Oyelowo
In 2015, Oyelowo was cast as the stylish English spy in an audiobook adaptation of Anthony Horowitz’s 007 novel titled “Trigger Mortis”, after being contacted by the original James Bond writer’s estate to take on the role.
The 42-year-old actor is an Awe prince in Oyo State, Nigeria. He began acting professionally sometime around 1998 and has since then received two NAACP Image Awards, one Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Movie, and two Golden Globe Awards nominations. In 2016, Oyelowo was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by the British monarch, for his services to drama.
Origin of James Bond
The James Bond series is made up of twelve novels and two short-story collections about a fictional British Secret Service agent. The character was originally created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming. Since the writer’s death, there have been over 30 novels and short stories and at least 26 movies based on the James Bond character. The role has been played by 11 actors, most popularly Pierce Brosnan, Sean Connery, Daniel Craig, and Roger Moore.
Although Oyelowo admits that actor, Idris Elba, is also “ripe” for the role, he intends to meet with James Bond producer, Barbara Broccoli, for discussions.
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