People Are Freaking Out Over A Video Of Idris Elba Praising The Bond Film ‘Goldeneye’ Back In 1995

Daniel Craig’s final stint as James Bond is finally, after a year-and-a-half delay, hitting theaters in a couple weeks. After No Time to Die drops, the future is unclear for the franchise. Craig’s replacement has still yet to be chosen, although for years many fans have called for one person in particular: Idris Elba. Trouble is, Elba isn’t into the idea. (Or at least he wasn’t back in 2018.) But at least we know he’s a fan of the series.

— DoubleOKevin (@KevBot_007) September 18, 2021

Over the weekend, an old video started making the rounds. It’s from 1995 and it shows people in the United Kingdom emerging from a showing of GoldenEye, the first Bond film to star Pierce Brosnan, only to be interviewed by a camera crew, asking them about their thoughts on the new 007. “Spot anyone interesting toward the end” the person who posted it wrote. Sure enough, about 25 seconds in there he is: Idris Elba, circa 1995.

“He’s really good,” says Elba about Brosnan. “He’s got all the charm. He’s got all the looks. And he’s fit and strong and blah, blah, blah. He’s all right.”

At the time, Elba had just broken into the industry, appearing on shows like The Bill, Brammel, even Absolutely Fabulous. The Wire, which would make him famous in America, was still seven years away.

When the video dropped, people online freaked out.

— Kyle Brandt (@KyleBrandt) September 19, 2021

Okay, yeah, watch to the end. https://t.co/gQpKn026OP

— Franklin Leonard (@franklinleonard) September 19, 2021

Hooooooly shit. https://t.co/6ACdpEEa5J

— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) September 19, 2021

You know in his head he was already thinking he could do a better job https://t.co/OsJmcX82Q0

— MI6 HQ (@jamesbondlive) September 19, 2021

And there were jokes.

— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) September 19, 2021

Anyway, not too late for Elba to reconsider. After all, he’s got the charm, the looks, etc., too.