by Joe Otterson | Variety
Idris Elba and his Green Door Pictures production company have signed a first-look deal at Apple, Variety has learned. Under the deal, Elba and Green Door will produce both series and features for Apple’s streaming platform, Apple TV Plus.
Elba is an actor, producer, director, and musician. He is known for his starring roles in films like “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw,” “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom,” “Beasts of No Nation,” and multiple films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the character Heimdall. He also starred in the critically-acclaimed BBC series “Luther,” which earned him a Golden Globe Award and multiple Emmy nominations, as well as HBO’s “The Wire.”
Elba founded Green Door in 2013. The company’s credits include the comedy “In The Long Run,” created by and featuring Elba as part of an ensemble cast. The company also produced Elba’s Netflix comedy series “Turn Up Charlie.” Other credits include the short-form shows “The Idris Takeover” and “5×5,” the Manchester International Festival and Young Vic theatre production “Tree,” and the upcoming feature “Concrete Cowboy.”
Jay Hunt, Apple’s creative director for Europe, led the deal. Elba is repped by WME, The Artists Partnership and Ziffren Brittenham.
Elba is the latest high-profile star to sign a deal with Apple. Others include Oprah Winfrey, Alfonso Cuaron, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Justin Lin, Kerry Ehrin, Jason Katims, Lee Eisenberg, Monica Beletsky, Sharon Horgan, Alena Smith and Simon Kinberg.