Acclaimed Actor Shakil Hussain Stars in New Volkswagen Advertising Campaign

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Acclaimed actor Shakil Hussain ("EastEnders") has been tapped to be the face behind Volkswagen's new television campaign spanning the globe this fall.

"I'm very excited to be working with such an important brand," Hussain said. "It's turned into an incredible project to be part of. My character is affectionately known as "Mr. Excitement." He's this incredibly enthusiastic, charming guy who genuinely loves his job and gets perhaps a little too excited about what he's doing."

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Shot around the world, with Hussain as the proverbial main character and host, every commercial is completely different, focusing on humor as well as the hybrid vehicle's unique look and features.

The Volkswagen ID. Cross is an all-electric subcompact crossover SUV that serves as the electric counterpart to the VW T-Cross which is the automaker's smallest and most affordable subcompact crossover SUV.

"We shot several different pieces of the campaign together, so they'll be released periodically rather than everything appearing at once," Hussain said. "We also had a lot of fun creating additional content specifically for social media, so I'm excited to see how all of that comes together."

Having had a background in British Television, Hussain is at home playing a comedic role in the series of commercials aimed at a worldwide audience.

"We got to shoot in Portugal and Germany, and in Germany we filmed inside this incredible Volkswagen factory. Just being able to see the scale of that operation up close was amazing," he said. "And I got to drive the car around, which was obviously the important part! That was great fun."

The new role is a departure for the veteran actor whose television credits include "Boat Story" (BBC), "Riches" (Amazon Prime Video/ITV), "Emmerdale" (ITV), "EastEnders" (BBC), "We Hunt Together" and others.

As the commercial campaign continues to move forward, Hussain is also set to star in the upcoming Apple TV series "Wild Things," starring Andrew Garfield and Jude Law. The show follows the story of legendary illusionists Siegfried & Roy, whose spectacular performances with exotic animals helped transform Las Vegas entertainment before Roy Horn's near-fatal onstage tiger attack.

Hussain is represented by United Agents in the U.K.