Idris Elba Is Driving with Ford to Launch Electric Mustang-Inspired SUV

According to People, British actor Idris Elba is teaming up with Ford Motor Co. to help launch its newest vehicle. The automaker revealed that the 47-year-old actor and director will be serving as a “creative partner” with them to help launch an all-electric Mustang-inspired crossover, which will be revealed at the Los Angeles Auto Show taking place on Nov. 17.

“Most people don’t know this, but I worked at Ford as a young guy,” Elba said. “My dad also worked at Ford. It’s practically in my blood. So working on this project and getting behind the wheel of a car that takes us all towards the future feels like things coming full circle, but with more exhilaration and tech,” Idris Elba.

The heartthrob had previously helped promote another vehicle. In 2015, he went on a tour of Europe to promote the merits of the Jaguar XE.

In 2013, in an article by Irish Examiner, he recalls deciding to pursue an acting career, “It happened at a time when I wasn’t making any money from it. I was doing a night shift at the Ford factory in Dagenham with my dad and I knew that if I stayed there, I’d be a lifer. I took the moment to say, ‘Stop. Go for it.’

“The next morning, I took a flight to New York. I didn’t get a job. I tried to get into the Lee Strasberg school but there was all sorts of red tape. But it gave me the energy to come back and do it. When I got back to London, the first thing I did was get a play.”

In May 2007, Elba was on People‘s annual 100 Most Beautiful People in the World and in 2013, he was named Essence‘s Sexiest Man of the Year. Being ranked No. 2 on People‘s annual Sexiest Man Alive in 2013, five years later, on Nov. 5, 2018, he won the top honor. In 2015, he was named one of GQ magazine’s 50 best-dressed British men and in the following year, 2016, Elba was listed as one of the Most Influential People in the World by Time magazine.

As of May 2019, his films have grossed over $9.8 billion at the global box office, including over $3.6 billion in North America, where he is one of the top 20 highest-grossing actors. The actor was recently seen as a villain in the Fast & Furious spinoff movie Hobbs & Shaw.