With his name being bandied around as the next James Bond, a new series of Luther currently being filmed and a starring role alongside Sean Penn in his latest movie, Idris Elba is one of the hottest stars around right now.

The 42-year-old actor, who has in all fairness denied rumours that he will play Ian Fleming’s iconic spy, won critical acclaim – and a legion of female fans – as Detective John Luther in the BBC1 series, and he played Nelson Mandela in the 2013 movie Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom as well as a mysterious operative in this year’s action movie The Gunman.

But acting is not the only string in his bow. Idris is also a DJ, and next month he appears at Goodwood Racecourse as the finale act of Three Friday Nights. In what has become an annual event, the parade ring is transformed after an afternoon of racing into a unique music arena on three consecutive Friday nights in June.

With Idris appearing as the finale act on June 19, alternative rock band 2ManyDJs, also known as Soulwax and headed up by brothers David and Stephen Dewaele who have spent the past two decades travelling the world with their unique mash-ups and sublime remixes, appear on June 5, with English Garage duo Gorgon City, aka North London producers Kye Gibbon and Matt Robson-Scott, who were responsible for 2014’s hit ‘Ready for Your Love’, taking centre stage on June 12. Previous Three Friday Nights acts at Goodwood include Rudimental, Trevor Nelson, Andy Cato, Mark Ronson, Mike Skinner and Boy George.

“It’s beyond nailbiting when we draw up our wish list of acts and begin the negotiations,” says Goodwood Racecourse manager James Crespi.

“Then it’s euphoria when we have signed them up. To have Idris Elba, Gorgon City and 2ManyDJs this year is a sign that we are now in that league. Last year, we were sold out to capacity.”

So seriously does Idris take his DJing he has revealed he won’t commit to a movie role unless he has assurances he can still work as a DJ during a shoot.

“I don’t have a clause,” he told ShortList magazine. “But we do ask the production companies to allow me the chance to go off and spin wherever I am in the world.

“Most of them want to have a happy actor, so they’re like, ‘Yeah, go off, let him DJ if it makes him comfortable.”

He added: “To be honest, I’m going to keep making music regardless of whether people love it or not. I can actually be more personal, and more honest to anyone that’s interested via my music than I can when I’m acting.’’ He released his first single ‘Please Be True’ in 2009 and later released his six-song EP ‘Kings Among Kings’ to much critical acclaim, his 2010 EP High Class Problems Vol 1 winning a nomination in the Billboard Music Awards. He co-directed and performed in the music video ‘Lover of the Light’ by Mumford and Sons, and performed a rap for the second album by Noel Fielding and Sergio Pizzorno’s band The Loose Tapestries.

And he has performed at many events, including seven week-long residencies in Ibiza, NBA All Star Parties in Las Vegas and legendary appearances at the Ibiza club Pacha. Last month he performed in a igloo at Snowbombing, a unique music festival in Austria, alongside 2ManyDJs and dozens of other acts including Rudimental, and where he was photographed with Hove DJ Fatboy Slim.

In February he performed a DJ set at the end of an epic road trip from London to Berlin in a Jaguar XE alongside F1 racing legend Martin Brundle. They travelled 750 miles over three days, covering four countries, to demonstrate the new XE’s fuel economy with Jaguar releasing a series of short films documenting the journey.

Idris comments, “My work takes me around the world, but I rarely have the time or luxury of getting behind the wheel for myself. I wanted to do this trip and record the experience through a series of short films. I have long been a fan of Jaguar’s incredible sporting heritage and have been truly impressed with how the brand has evolved over the past few years. It’s a real privilege being the first person to take the new XE on a significant road trip across Europe.”

Just a few days after his road trip, Idris, who has been voted the Sexiest Man Alive as well as one of GQ’s 50 Best-Dressed British Men, began filming the latest two-part miniseries of Luther, the near-genius murder detective last seen on our TV screens in 2013. On March 1, he tweeted: “First day back to set of John Luther... stand by, East London.”

Its writer and creator Neil Cross said: “Ever since we said goodbye to John Luther on Southwark Bridge, there’s hardly been a minute when I didn’t wonder what happened next. So I decided to find out. We’re putting the band back together. Luther is coming back where he belongs. Back to the BBC. Back to London. And back to work.”

Filming ended last month and the two-parter will be aired on the BBC later this year, although it’s rumoured that actress Ruth Wilson will not be reprising her role as Luther’s nemesis Alice.

However, Luther is being adapted by Fox for American television, with Idris as executive producer and the hunt on to find an actor to play Luther.

  • Three Friday Nights at Goodwood, Good Racecourse. Friday June 5: 2Manydjs. Friday June 12: Gorgon City. Friday June 19: Idris Elba. Gordon Enclosure tickets start at £22.50 and Richmond Enclosure at £43. Phone the ticket office on 01243 216 610 or visit goodwood.com/3fn