--- description: Actor Idris Elba became the first male to make the cover of Maxim by himself with the release of the men's magazine's September issue. title: Idris Elba James Bond Beasts of No Nation: Actor Lands 'Maxim' Cover image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt65cbbac8629ba06c/69885deea988cafc8e6b3c2b/idris-elba-maxim-cover.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [celebrities](/tag/celebrities/) ## celebrities Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Idris Elba Lands First Male 'Maxim' Cover ## Video: Study Finds James Bond Was Likely an ‘Impotent Drunk’ [Watch (HLS stream): Study Finds James Bond Was Likely an ‘Impotent Drunk’](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/OFOz8h3G.m3u8) (1:30)  _Published 2013-12-13. Researchers in Britain conducted a study on the number of drinks the fictional spy consumed during each of author Ian Fleming’s 14 novels and the findings are alarming._  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Aug 5, 2015 12:05 PM CUT  Maxim  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Aug 5, 2015 12:05 PM CUT Actor Idris Elba became the first male to make the cover of _Maxim_ by himself with the release of the men’s magazine’s [September issue](http://www.maxim.com/maxim-man/article/check-out-idris-elba-cover-maxims-september-2015-issue "undefined"). Like many similar magazines, the publication typically features scantily clad women on its cover. “This is the very first time, and there was no one else in the world more badass than Idris,” _Maxim_ editor-in-chief Kate Lanphear told [Racked](http://www.racked.com/2015/8/4/9093997/maxim-september-idris-elba "undefined"). Elba landed the cover as speculation swirls about the possibility that he might land the part of James Bond after Daniel Craig retires from the role. The British-born actor also plays a mercenary in the upcoming drama _Beasts of No Nation._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3985309/idris-elba-maxim/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3985309/idris-elba-maxim/"},"headline":"Idris Elba Lands First Male 'Maxim' Cover","datePublished":"2015-08-05T12:05:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:23:03.011Z","description":"'There was no one else in the world more badass than Idris'","url":"https://time.com/3985309/idris-elba-maxim/","keywords":["celebrities","Newsfeed"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt65cbbac8629ba06c/69885deea988cafc8e6b3c2b/idris-elba-maxim-cover.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt65cbbac8629ba06c/69885deea988cafc8e6b3c2b/idris-elba-maxim-cover.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Idris-Elba-Maxim-cover","caption":"","creditText":"Maxim","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/celebrities/","name":"celebrities"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3985309/idris-elba-maxim/","name":"Idris Elba Lands First Male 'Maxim' Cover"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Study Finds James Bond Was Likely an ‘Impotent Drunk’","description":"Researchers in Britain conducted a study on the number of drinks the fictional spy consumed during each of author Ian Fleming’s 14 novels and the findings are alarming.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/OFOz8h3G/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2013-12-13T20:41:05.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/OFOz8h3G.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3985309/idris-elba-maxim/","duration":"PT1M30S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3985309/idris-elba-maxim/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```