British actor and 'Mad Max : Fury Road' star could be the next James Bond, according to BoyleSports, an online bookmaker.
The actor is topping the poll among bookmakers who are placing bets on which actor will take over from Daniel Craig as 007 when he leaves the franchise.
“The Next James Bond market has certainly come alive with all the support coming in for Tom Hardy, who is now 4/1 from 6/1 to take over from Daniel Craig,” BoyleSports spokesman Liam Glynn in a statement.
“With the support showing no signs of drying up, we are expecting Tom Hardy to be the new favorite for the role sooner rather than later, which could result in BoyleSports being hit hard if Hardy lands the role,” Glynn said.
Idris Elba is tied with former Homeland actor Damian Lewis as forerunner for the race with betting odds 3/1."
Others rounding the top 10 contenders are Michael Fassbender, Richard Armitage, Orlando Bloom, Dougray Scott, Rupert Friend and Dominic West.
While entertainment bookmaking is an unreliable science, it’s always interesting to know what the public views on entertaining topics like this are.
Elba has long been fans favourite black choice to play James Bond, and also succeed Daniel Craig who is currently filming the forthcoming Bond film 'Spectre,'which hits theatres November 26, 2015.
READ: ANTHONY HOROWITZ SAYS IDRIS ELBA IS TOO 'ROUGH' AND 'STREET' TO PLAY JAMES BOND
In 2014, a hacked Sony email revealed the company thought Elba “should be the next Bond”.
IDRIS ELBA RESPONDS TO 'TOO STREET' COMMENT BY JAMES BOND AUTHOR