from the extended artice and context for the remarks,
"Given that he owns an actual castle, it isn’t hard to see why people go on about how posh West is. He’s so fed up with it that when I apologise in advance for asking the “inevitable question”, about James Bond, he looks thrilled. “Oh, I thought you were going to talk about Eton.” West’s name has been touted for the Bond role, so who would he give the job to? “Me,” he flashes back, with a mischievous twinkle. “I think we need an older Bond.” Would he take it if offered? “Of course I would, but I don’t think I will be.” If he had to stake £100 on who the next one will be, I begin to ask, which way would he … but West breaks into laughter. “Well, I did try, actually. I thought, this is easy money, Idris [Elba] is definitely going to get it.”
He isn’t joking. A couple of years ago, West was so sure Elba was a shoo-in that he sent his nephew to the bookies to put on a bet. “I had no inside information, but I was convinced, so I thought I might as well cash in. I was going to put a lot of money on it.” How much? “As much as I could.” But the bookies had capped the amount anyone could bet on Elba, “and the odds were pretty rubbish, so I didn’t”.
How about the idea of the next Bond being a woman? The laughter fades. “I suppose so.” I point out that his expression suggests otherwise. “Well …I think some of these things are gender specific. So I don’t see it myself.” Then another thought occurs. “Maybe a transgender Bond would be cool.”
Thinking out loud, he goes on, “Yes, there’s a very cool woman who’s the wife of an actor in [West’s latest film] Colette, who is a captain in the electrical engineers, the highest-ranking transgender soldier in the army. She’s done two tours of Afghanistan. She’s a beautiful blonde girl who could be Bond, yes. That’s actually a brilliant idea. They should have a transgender Bond because there are a lot of transgender people in the army. They’d be ideal because they can do everything. That’s a great idea! A transgender Bond.”
Though before Barbara Broccoli casts her, she might bear in mind that West doesn’t watch many actors at work. He hasn’t seen any of the headline dramas of this year — McMafia, Bodyguard, Killing Eve. Can he name a single TV series he’s watched this year? “Erm … Bake Off and Strictly with the kids.”
also from the interview,
His wife crops up a lot in West’s interviews, usually because he’s quoting her complaining about whatever he said in the last one. A lovely weekend in Sussex, for example, was “wrecked” when they pulled over for petrol and saw a newspaper headline about how much he’d hated Eton. “She was very cross, my old teachers were very upset,” and he had to write lots of apologetic letters. So now he’s trying to be one of those “clever people” who manage to talk to the press without ever saying anything. “Yes, it’s a pain in the arse, and I keep saying the wrong thing.” If it were down to him, would he never give another interview? “Hell, yes!” He pauses. “But I mean, I do enjoy it. Which is the problem,” he chuckles. “I love talking about myself. I wish I could just shut the f* up.”
www.thetimes.co.uk/article/exclusive-interview-dominic-west-on-why-the-bbcs-les-miserables-is-far-better-than-the-musical-5h6rmx7qf
Perhaps the 'agendas' to consider are that of Radio 4 Broadcasting House & today's guests, novelist Dreda Say Mitchell & presenter Petroc Trelawny.