Idris Elba has directed a new short film for a track produced by Dutch DJ R3hab.
The actor chose to work on the promo for the song ‘Unstoppable’, featuring Eva Simons, which will be included on the Pepsi Max ‘Beats of the Beautiful Game’ album to celebrate the World Cup this year, because he loved the idea of being unstoppable.
Idris, who has also achieved success as a DJ, said: "When I first heard the song I really loved the idea of being unstoppable … it’s self belief, its someone that just says, ‘Guess what? I can do anything I want to do’."
The six-minute video is set in the 1970s and features a group of teenagers on a school bus, outlining ‘the nerd’, ‘the lads’ and the popular girls, who are all in different social circles.
The promo tackles bullying and eventually shows the school nerd throwing away his glasses, standing up for himself and showing off his skills in a game of football as the girls watch one.
Idris said: "I like the whole ’70s era, the haircuts and the style, and I chose a character that is stereotypically a nerd, isn’t sporty looking … but [it] turns out that he really is good at [football], and he is unstoppable when he starts to let himself go."
Talking about the track, R3hab told BANG Showbiz: "For me, when we were making this song, we wanted to really look at the message and it was to do with winning and emotions and being unstoppable.
"You can be unstoppable in sports, in school, in business or even in a relationship. It can mean so much. We kept working on the idea and wanted it to relate to everybody. It took a fair amount of time but it was important."
R3hab, who has also remixed songs or the likes of Rihanna, Rita Ora and Calvin Harris, claims he feels unstoppable when he’s on stage and performing at festivals.
He said: "When I’m performing [I feel unstoppable]. I’ve come a long way from playing festivals for free drinks. Now I’m playing in New York, Las Vegas, it’s absolutely insane and hard to realise sometimes. I also have Creamfields [festival] coming up.
"I get a lot of feedback from the artists when I remix their tracks. I’ve also remixed for Tiesto and now he’s remixing my records, which is pretty cool."
To watch the video directed by Idris Elba, search ‘R3hab ft Eva Simons’ and ‘Pespi’ on YouTube, or visit www.pepsi.com for more information about ‘Beats of the Beautiful Game’.
Idris Elba directs short film for new song
