Idris Elba makes a fashionable debut on Saturday Night Live

Actor, DJ, and humanitarian, Idris Elba made his debut on Saturday Night Live this past weekend and it was arguably one of the funniest episodes of the year. Should he do more comedy?

For his first ever time hosting Saturday Night Live, Idris Elba was incredible on stage. He opened with somewhat of an origin story about how he used to work in New York as a nightclub bouncer.

Yes, the Idris Elba who’s appeared in movies like Pacific Rim and Thor: Ragnarok used to be a doorman. It’s not uncommon for celebrities to work practical jobs in the early days of their acting careers but hearing that a superstar like Idris Elba lived a normal life gives every aspiring actor/artist hope for their own dreams to come true.

Elba gave audiences a summary of his story during the show’s opening, followed by him playing in a number of sketches. What’s interesting is Elba hasn’t been given much opportunity to show off his comedic skills but he definitely has the chops, evidenced by his performance on SNL.

Most of us familiar with Elba’s work know that he’s done the drama, he’s done the action, but he hasn’t played any comedic roles or been in any comedies for that matter. You could count The Losers but Elba played one of the villains in that too. Nevertheless, his comedic debut on SNL was well worth the wait.

Just in the first sketch, Elba proves so. In it, Elba plays a character on a gameshow called “Can I Play That?”. The premise revolves around a particular acting role and each contestant has to guess whether or not they can play that based on their own ethnicity and gender.

Elba and his two SNL co-stars go through multiple rounds, guessing wrong on various occasions. At one point, the acting role of James Bond comes up. Elba thinks he knows the answer but the gameshow’s host rebuffs Elba’s enthusiasm, clearly alluding to rumors that surfaced last year.

Back in 2018, rumors of Idris Elba being attached to a James Bond movie began circulating around the internet. The rumors soon gained traction and a lot of people were supportive of the casting choice. Of course, some skeptics soon denounced the idea altogether.

There was no truth to the rumors and Elba hasn’t been contacted to play James Bond but the possibility sounded feasible at the time. And now SNL making fun of that casting rumor once again raises the question: should Idris Elba play the lead in a James Bond movie?

Whatever your opinion may be, Elba poking fun at the idea shows how much range he actually has. One might say he’s been typecast but his comedic talents definitely prove otherwise. That being said, Elba has a long career ahead of him and a feature comedy could be right up his alley.

Would you pay to see Idris Elba in a comedy movie? And who do you think he should partner up with? Will Ferrell, Seth Rogen, Sacha Baron Cohen, Seth McFarlane? Let us know in the comments section below.

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