“I also don’t want to be gifted a role”: Dev Patel Has One Reason to Not Replace Daniel Craig as James Bond With Christopher Nolan Rumored to Direct Reboot
Dev Patel rose to fame with his breakthrough leading role in Danny Boyle’s 2008 drama Slumdog Millionaire. His portrayal of Jamal Malik in the movie earned him a nomination for the British Academy Film Award for Best Actor. Thereafter, he has starred in numerous other films and series.
What many might not know is that Dev Patel was once considered for the role of James Bond after Daniel Craig bid adieu to the franchise. Now, although this was a golden opportunity for him to gain even more fame, not to mention the humungous paychecks, he gracefully declined the role. This might come as a surprise to a lot of people, but his reasoning for it makes sense.
Dev Patel Refused To Be Cast As James Bond
James Bond is one of the most famous fictional spies to have ever existed, if not the most famous, considering Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt is also a tough contender for that position. Created in 1953 by Ian Fleming, the British Secret Service Agent has gained a cult following since its first film adaptation in 1962.
By 1995, Sean Connery’s 007 mantle was passed on to Pierce Brosnan, whose departure gave way to Daniel Craig‘s Bond, and now the position is vacant yet again, as the mantle awaits its next successor. Dev Patel was rumored to be this successor until he strongly denied all of it.
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In an interview with IndieWire, Patel revealed his reasoning for doing so, saying:
“I also don’t want to be gifted a role, just because of the tokenistic nature of me being a garnish — ‘Let’s sprinkle some diversity into this! That doesn’t make me feel good either. If it works for the story, and I feel like I can bring some truth out of this role or embody it well, then that’s what it should come down to.”
The Green Knight actor’s point of view is justified given how recent trends are turning out to be regarding actors of color. He also said that he would like to see Idris Elba as James Bond.
Dev Patel’s Optimism for the Future of Filmmaking
Dev Patel was cast as David Copperfield in Armando Iannucci’s Charles Dickens adaptation of The Personal History of David Copperfield. Initially, when Iannucci contacted him for the role, Patel was utterly confused as to why someone would want to cast him of all people as a 19th-century protagonist who has been considered nothing but white all the time.
Iannucci, however, clarified Patel’s confusion as he went on to go with a colorblind cast. The director aimed to have the best talents out there in his film and he successfully managed to do that. This established faith in Dev Patel for the future of filmmaking; he expressed it to IndieWire, saying:
“I think it’s a really positive time. There’s so much more opportunity out there, and I’m very grateful for that. I think Armando is really keeping the doors open on this, and hopefully there’s some other brave filmmakers that will follow in his footsteps.”
Patel’s optimism seems to be working as recently, Disney has been trying to become more and more inclusive of actors of color ignoring the sheer amount of backlash it has been getting from some fans.
