Shah Rukh Khan: 'But I am brown enough to play the baddie'

Shah Rukh Khan was one of the speakers at the World Government Summit 2024 in Dubai on Wednesday.

Apart from speaking about his rise to fame at the 11th edition of World Government Summit (WGS) at Madinat Jumeirah, the actor talked about how he would have loved to play the iconic British secret agent, James Bond, but cannot.

Everyone from Daniel Craig to Pierce Brosnan has played the fictional spy in the Bond film series.

During a session, titled The Making Of A Star: A Conversation With Shah Rukh Khan, the actor joked about 'not being a legend', and said, when asked what his name was, "I am James Bond."

When asked if he would like to 'play Bond', Shah Rukh said, "I really wanted to, but I think I am too short... But I am brown enough to play the Bond baddie."

The actor then went to speak about his acting career of 33 years, as well as his stardom. Asked why he didn't cross over to Hollywood, the actor was quoted as saying in a report by Gulfnews.com, "I know many people from the American and the English film industries. But nobody has offered me good work and I wondered if I was spreading myself too thin. I was offered Slumdog Millionaire, but I felt that the role of the game show host was too mean."

Anil Kapoor went on play the said role in the 2008 film, which was directed by Danny Boyle and went on to win eight of the 10 awards at the 2009 Oscars.

The actor was last in Dunki, which was released in December 2023. Before that, Shah Rukh was seen in back-to-back action films – Pathaan and Jawaan. Both the films were two of the biggest box office hits of 2023.