In its search for inspiration and a challenging exchange with opinion leaders and visionaries from different areas of society, the BMW Group has entered into a cooperation with one of the most prominent players in the US cinema -- actor Christoph Waltz, who takes on the role as co-creator for the premium brand BMW.

The two-time Academy Award winner took part in the world premiere of the future model BMW iX at #NEXTGen 2020 as a prelude to a long-term partnership between the actor and the Munich premium brand.

To kick off the partnership, Waltz played a central role in the design world premiere of the BMW iX, says the company.

With this year's #NEXTGen, the multi-day, completely digitally produced event streamed at www.bmw.com/NEXTGen, the BMW Group is not only providing an outlook on future individual mobility, but also exciting insights into how the models and technologies are developed with which the company is significantly driving and shaping the current transformation of the automotive industry, the company said.

In order to gain a deeper understanding of tomorrow's needs, wishes and trends, the BMW Group cooperates with pioneers and lateral thinkers from such diverse fields as computer technology and e-gaming, fashion and sport, ecology and social science as well as music, film and other cultural disciplines.

The dialogue with Christoph Waltz, who was awarded an Oscar each for his acting achievements in the films "Inglorious Bastards" (2009) and "Django Unchained" (2012), was initiated by Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG. He invited the actor to enter into critical dialogue with designers, technology developers and strategy experts from the BMW Group. The focus was on the design of the BMW iX, the current fields of innovation of the BMW Group and the general conditions under which individual mobility will continue to develop in the future.

"The discussions we had with Christoph Waltz in the run-up to #NEXTGen 2020 about future technologies, social change and the future significance of driving pleasure were very inspiring. He gave us new perspectives with his openness, pragmatism and a certain degree of impatience. I am delighted to have won a Co-Creator in Christoph Waltz, who will challenge us again and again with his thoughts and ideas," says Zipse.

When it comes to cars, Waltz appreciates premium quality, technological precision and attention to detail. He is particularly concerned with the sustainable character of high-quality and therefore durable products. But the actor is also intensively interested in the ecological aspect of sustainable drive technology with regard to protecting the climate and conserving resources. Accordingly, he follows the progress in the field of electric mobility with great interest.

Waltz observes the latest developments in the technology fields of electric mobility, networking and automated driving just as closely as the associated international competition. "I am delighted about every new technological impulse that comes not from Silicon Valley but from Europe, and I would like to see more of it", says Waltz. "What I was able to learn at BMW in this area impressed me very much. BMW is a very steeped-in-tradition, but at the same time extremely future-oriented company."