Following Luther star Idris Elba's statement that he no longer identifies himself as a "black actor" because it limits him as a person and his career, other Hollywood stars came into Elba’s defense and supported his opinion given that any comment regarding race and identity these days seems to get taken out of context and understanding by the masses. Star Wars star John Boyega was among those who weighed in on the MCU-DCU actor’s remark.
Boyega recently took to Twitter to tell his followers that Elba's detractors were misinterpreting his remark. “I think we should fixate on who is typecasting and putting actors in boxes because of this,” he wrote. “Not on making weird adjustments for them. We continuously focus on what we have to do so they don’t do this or that. Very worrying. We BLACK and that’s that.”
Elba himself also took it to social media to address those who are criticizing him, noting: “There isn’t a soul on this earth that can question whether I consider myself a BLACK MAN or not. Being an ‘actor’ is a profession, like being an ‘architect,’ they are not defined by race. However, If YOU define your work by your race, that is your Prerogative. Ah, lie?”
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In his original interview with Variety, the Beast actor stated that “As humans, we are obsessed with race,” He added, “And that obsession can hinder people’s aspirations, hinder people’s growth. Racism should be a topic for discussion, sure. Racism is very real. But from my perspective, it’s only as powerful as you allow it to be. I stopped describing myself as a Black actor when I realized it put me in a box. We’ve got to grow. We’ve got to. Our skin is no more than that: it’s just skin. Rant over.”
Boyega has spoken out about his struggles as a black actor. In 2020, the actor sparked outrage by criticizing Disney's treatment of minorities in the Star Wars sequel trilogy. “You get involved in projects and you're not going to like everything, but what I would say to Disney is don't bring out a black character, market them to be much more important in the franchise than they are, and then have them pushed to the side,” he said. “I'll say it straight: it's not good.”
Both Elba and Boyega were reportedly candidates to be the next James Bond following Daniel Craig’s retirement as Agent 007. Elba believes the iconic British secret agent is unsuitable for his career, while Boyega is skeptical that the next Bond actor will be Black. “You, as a white man, grew up with Bond as a white man, and that's normal,” Boyega explained. “That's normal for you, but even the mention of a Black Bond to me is like... I don't necessarily believe that, but if that's what they're doing, okay, that's very surprising to me.”
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