Many believe that there are tons of LGBT actors who could do a great job in filling the role. Idris Elba, who is straight, was recently asked about the controversy and apparently didn’t seem to think it was that big of a deal.

“Artistic license is artistic license. If an actor has the attributes to do something, they should be able to do it,” Elba said to TimeOut London. “They’re acting.

“You don’t necessarily have to be gay to play a gay character,” he continued. “Though you do have to be Black to play a Black character.”

While his latter statement is certainly agreeable, the one before it is controversial, to say the least.

Idris Elba’s latest comments come after he said he definitely would not be taking over the role as James Bond. Anthony Horowitz, the author of the Bond series, once described Elba as “too street” to play longstanding character.

“It’s like the debate about James Bond. It’s nonsense,” Elba explained. “It’s a fictional character. I’ve got mad respect for how Ian Fleming described him. He said he was a white guy, looked like this … That’s how it was written. But then there’s interpretation.

“If we were always bound by the confines that something has to be [one way], people would never have expanded on things and come up with some of the most genius ideas.”

What do you think? Does Idris Elba have any bit of a point about straight actors playing gay roles, or should straight actors stick to representing themselves? Let us know in the comment section below.