Idris Elba Auditioned For Gaston In Live-Action Beauty And The Beast

My, what a guy, that Idris Elba.

In a recent interview with PEOPLE, Elba revealed that he almost played Gaston in the recent live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. Sitting down with the publication's editor-in-chief, Jess Cagle, the actor recounted his dazzling Disney audition. 

"I honestly love musicals. I auditioned for Beauty and the Beast. I really did, for Gaston," Elba said, clearly enthused about the idea of strutting his stuff atop a table for Gaston's big number in the movie. "I called and said, 'Listen, I want in!' So somewhere they have a tape of me singing." But fans shouldn't expect to see that footage surface online anytime soon. According to Elba, the tape of his audition is nowhere to be found. 

As for whether Elba has any hard feelings or harbors any resentment against Luke Evans for landing the larger-than-life role instead, the actor gave an expectedly tongue-in-cheek answer. "No, only a little bit," Elba laughed. "No! I love you Luke, you know that."

The film, which stars Emma Watson as the titular beauty and Dan Stevens as its beast, became one of the top 10 highest-grossing movies of all time following its release in March of this year, and pulled in a staggering $350 million at the global box office in its first weekend. Even so, something tells us that figure could have been even higher with Elba on board.