New clip from the '90s shows pre-fame Idris Elba praising Pierce Brosnan as James Bond
"He's all right"
With No Time to Die signalling the end of Daniel Craig's tenure as James Bond, talk has, of course, turned to who should replace him. Bond actors change like the seasons, with no one actor staying in the role forever, so this isn't the first time we've had this conversation.
Back in 1995, GoldenEye saw the start of Pierce Brosnan's time as Bond, taking over from Timothy Dalton. A new clip from the time of the movie's release, in which cinema-goers give their verdict on the new 007 actor after a screening of the movie, has gone viral thanks to one particular interviewee.
Audience reactions to GoldenEye. Spot anyone interesting toward the end? pic.twitter.com/Fi2y1E4tFISeptember 18, 2021
"He's really good," none other than a pre-fame Idris Elba says towards the end of the clip. "He's got all the charm and all the looks and you know what I mean? He's fit, he's strong and blah, blah, blah. Yeah, he's all right, he's all right."
This is a bit of a full circle moment – Brosnan has previously listed Elba as one of his picks to take over from Craig as Bond. "Idris Elba comes to mind," Brosnan said in an interview with People earlier this year. "Idris is such a powerful presence and such a great former voice tensity. He would be magnificent."
Brosnan played Bond in four movies, until 2002's Die Another Day, and then Craig took over for 2006's Casino Royale. No Time to Die is his fifth movie in the role.
While we wait for No Time to Die to finally arrive in theaters (on September 30 in the UK and October 8 in the US), catch up on the exploits of 007 with our guide to watching the James Bond movies in order.
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I’m an Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism.