AN OXFORD-born film star will soon become the second black actor to portray James Bond in an audiobook series.

David Oyelowo has been named as the narrator of the new 007 book Trigger Mortis.

The book, based on Ian Fleming’s world-famous secret agent, was written by Bond fan and author of the Alex Rider novels, Anthony Horowitz.

Mr Oyelowo will be the second black actor to bring Bond to life, after Holby City star Hugh Quarshie narrated Dr No in 2012.

The 39-year-old said it was “very special” to be asked to perform the role, adding he had been personally asked by the Fleming estate.

This is not the first time that he has portrayed a spy.

Mr Oyelowo’s first big break on the small screen was as MI5 agent Danny Hunter in the BBC drama Spooks. He was born in Oxford in 1976 to Nigerian parents. He headed to his parents’ homeland aged six, where he discovered his father was related to the African country’s royal family.

After returning from Nigeria in 1989, he studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

He then went on to portray Henry VI with the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.

The father-of-four moved to Los Angeles in 2007, claiming there were not enough opportunities for British black actors.

He added: “Part of the reason I moved to America was I could feel my head bobbing against this glass ceiling that wasn’t going to break.”

Recently, Mr Oyelowo came to prominence when he portrayed Martin Luther King Jr in the hit film Selma.

The film dramatised the civil rights marches in the Alabama city in 1965.

Although Mr Oyelowo did not receive an Oscar nomination for his portrayal, it was well received by critics.

He had to gain more than two stone to play the role.