Idris Elba on Bond: 'You always want to be in the mix'

Idris Elba would like to stay "in the mix" when it comes to who will be the next James Bond, but won't chase the role.

The Luther actor's name has been linked to the suave superspy for months, and while the British star has laughed off the talk in the past, he does admit he'd like to be in the running if current 007 Daniel Craig does plan to step down.

"I'm an actor for hire, so obviously, you always want to be in the mix," he told USA Today. "But at the same time, the ambition is to start stuff up for me and others: introduce talent, ideas, stories. That's full circle when it comes to someone like me as a performer, because I'm creative in many different ways and don't want to just do one thing."

Idris is indeed a busy person, juggling fatherhood with his acting, DJing and designing commitments, and has just returned to the small screen in hit BBC show Luther.

He has also received Golden Globe and Screen Actor's Guild award nominations for his work on movie Beasts of No Nation, and no one is more surprised by the recognition than Idris.

"It's floored me, seeing how people reacted to it and how it's been impactful, especially in raising an awareness for an epidemic that continues to live with us," he said of the film, in which he plays an African warlord commanding an army of child soldiers.

However, Idris doesn't want to be pigeonholed into one style of acting: "I don't want to be considered a guy who does really dark roles or action roles - I want to be considered as a very adaptable guy."