Idris Elba was "not in the race" to play James Bond.

The 53-year-old actor was tipped to replace Daniel Craig as 007 for years, but Idris has now insisted he was never a serious candidate for the role, after Amazon/MGM Studios recently announced that the search for the next James Bond is underway.

The Luther star told People: "My name's not getting thrown out, no way. They're going younger. And I wish them all the luck of the world. I can't wait -- it's going to be amazing."

Idris insisted he was never among the contenders for the role, even though he was suggested as a possible Bond by many of his former co-stars.

He added: "I'm honestly not in the race ever. I wasn't in the race in the first place."

Meanwhile, Taron Egerton previously rubbished suggestions that he could play Bond, insisting that he's too "messy" for the role.

The 36-year-old actor has been tipped to replace Daniel Craig - but Taron believes there are "so many cool, younger actors" who would be better suited to the role.

Asked about the possibility of playing Bond, he told Collider: "I don't think I'm a good choice for it. I think I'm too messy for that.

"I think I'm not-- I really love James Bond and particularly Daniel Craig's tenure. But I think I wouldn't be good at it, and I think there's so many cool, younger actors who would be great for it. I think it would be wasted on me, probably."

Taron observed that leading the Bond franchise is "quite an undertaking". And he suggested that the scale of the project might not suit him, either.

The actor - who previously portrayed Sir Elton John in 2019's Rocketman - explained: "That's not to say that I don't have aspirations and plans and also that I wouldn't be interested in doing something that's more commercial, because of course I would. I think I'm a period in my life where, as you say, I've been probably following the things that speak to me on a creative level a little bit more, but, you know, I'm sure I won't feel that way forever.

"But James Bond is quite an undertaking and I think, one, as far as I'm aware, nobody's asking me to do it."