Nigerian, David Oyelowo is new James Bond

Actor David Oyelowo has been asked by the Ian Fleming
estate to record the audio book for Trigger Mortis, a new
officially commissioned Bond book written by Anthony Horowitz.
Oyelowo’s previous roles
include Henry VI for the Royal Shakespeare Company – which made him the first black actor to
play an
English king
in a major
Shakespeare
production.

He also
played the
MI5 officer Danny Hunter in the BBC TV drama
Spooks and was acclaimed for his performance as Martin
Luther King in Selma.

Oyelowo will play Bond, and other characters, in the
audiobook version of Trigger Mortis, written by Anthony
Horowitz and commissioned by the Ian Fleming estate.
Describing himself as “very honoured”, Oyelowo said: “I am
officially the only person on planet Earth who can
legitimately say: ‘I am the new James Bond’ – even saying
that name is the cinematic equivalent of doing the ‘to be or
not to be’ speech.”

He added: “I was asked specifically by the Fleming estate,
which is really special.”
Born in Oxford to Nigerian parents, his performance as
Henry VI drew critical acclaim, but also “very real
resistance”, particularly from one academic. Oyelowo said:
“He said that we open ourselves to ridicule if we allow black
people to play English kings when English kings have never
been black. But I’ve never seen an Egyptian play Cleopatra
… so it’s a nonsensical statement.”