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BIG SUPPORT: Pierce Brosnan (right) thinks Idris Elba (left) "would make a good James Bond"

WHILE THE debate continues over whether Idris Elba should be cast as the first ever black James Bond, the actor has landed the strongest endorsement yet – from former 007 Pierce Brosnan.

Elba's name has been repeatedly pitched amongst potential candidates for the coveted British spy role

When asked to comment on the issue, former James Bond, Brosnan, 61, gave his blessing to two black actors – Elba and former co-star Colin Salmon, with whom he previously featured in Bond movies The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day as MI6 Deputy Chief of Staff Charles Robinson.

"Yeah [Elba] would make a good Bond. Colin Salmon also," Brosnan said.

"May the best man get the job and may Daniel [Craig] bring home the bacon for as long as he wants."

The Irish actor played Bond four times between 1995 and 2002 before being replaced by the younger Daniel Craig, who is currently filming his fourth film as the debonair special agent.

Elba previously won the backing of US rapper Kanye West, who described the London born actor’s casting as a "visionary moment".

He told The Sun newspaper: 'I know Idris a little bit and he is a big talent. The movies he has been making are special, and when the role for James Bond comes up it needs to be his.

"James Bond is a role made for British actors and you won't find a British actor who has the talent of Idris. To be honest you won't find many anywhere who have his talent."

West added: "Artists should be visionaries. A black James Bond would be visionary no doubt. Something that 30 years ago would have seemed crazy should now be something that is a real possibility."

While some have argued that Elba could never portray the famous spy because he's black, in a 2011 interview with NPR, he admitted he's not interested in becoming the 'black' James Bond.

"Sean Connery wasn't the Scottish James Bond, and Daniel Craig wasn't the blue-eyed James Bond, so if I played him, I don't want to be called the black James Bond," he said.

The subject of the next 007 became a global debate after leaked emails from a Sony hack suggested Idris could take over from Daniel Craig.

Sony Pictures former co-chairman Amy Pascal allegedly told a top executive at Columbia Pictures, which distributes the Bond films, that "Idris should be the next Bond".