Former 007 villain Yaphet Kotto says James Bond cannot be black

The first African American actor to play a major Bond villain, Yaphet Kotto, has said that 007 cannot be black.

In an interview with the Big Issue, Kotto was asked for his views on the controversy surrounding Roger Moore’s recent suggestion that Bond should be “English-English”. The actor, who played Dr Kananga/Mr Big in 1973’s Live and Let Die, replied: “He cannot be black. Political correctness be damned, [we] have to stay with what is literally correct.”

Kotto, 75, added: “James Bond was established by Ian Fleming as a white character, played by white actors. Play 003 or 006, but you cannot be 007. A lot of people say we should be allowed to play everything. Don’t be ridiculous. If I say I want to play JFK, I should be laughed out of the room.

“Black men should stop trying to play roles created by whites. These roles are not written for black men. We have pens [to create] roles that no one else has established.”

Moore, 87, took to Twitter to deny racism after his comments made headlines around the world last month. The former 007 stated that he was not referring to Idris Elba, the black British actor who is the current bookmaker’s favourite to replace Daniel Craig as the suave secret agent, when he made his comments. He also implied that there had been a translation issue with Paris Match’s coverage.

Kotto also said criticism of the US Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for failing to reward civil rights drama Selma at this year’s ceremony was misplaced. “They’re wrong,” he said, pointing out that he himself had not voted for the film. “I’m in the Academy and people who project racial issues into movies have no business in our business.”

Kotto did reveal that he was asked not to promote Live and Let Die at the time for fear his portrayal would upset cinemagoers. “They were afraid the public would react negatively to a black villain so they didn’t play my character up. That hurt me a lot, man,” he said. “I went through a lot of goddamn emotional hell because they were afraid people would be angry that a black guy was not being Sidney Poitier. I was the opposite of everything he created.”