*David Oyelowo will at last get to retain his native British accent on a project.
The English star of “Selma” has been tapped to read the James Bond character in the audiobook version of “Trigger Mortis,” which was written by Anthony Horowitz and commissioned by the Ian Fleming estate, the Guardian reported Thursday.
Oyelowo will play 007 and other characters in the official Bond book set for release Sept. 8.
Oyelowo previously played Henry VI for the Royal Shakespeare Company, which made him the first black actor to play an English king in a major Shakespeare production, and MI5 officer Danny Hunter in the BBC TV drama “Spooks.”
“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,” Oyelowo, who was born in Oxford, England, to Nigerian parents, said of his new honor. “I was asked specifically by the Fleming estate, which is really special.”
We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!
