Damson Idris had to put in some intense work in order to prep for his upcoming film F1.
Speaking with Sway Calloway, Heather B and Tracy G on SiriusXM’s Sway in the Morning to promote the film earlier this week, Idris gave a glimpse into his incredible journey behind the wheel of real Formula 1 cars while filming with Brad Pitt, the intense preparation for real-life F1 driving scenes, and the groundbreaking representation this film brings to the sport. During the interview, the actor revealed that he drove up to a whopping 180 mph on set.
"Yeah, we did all the driving for real. Me and Brad. Yeah," he told the crew as he recalled the filming experience. He continued: "We trained, we trained for about four months and then probably, yeah, about two years really dotted out through filming. But they were real Formula 1 cars. And they put seven cameras on the cars. And you're watching my real reactions."
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Idris then talked a bit about his experiences with driving fast cars growing up. "And it's funny, you know, I grew up driving fast cars. So I showed up on set like, "It's finna be a breeze." I got in that car. I was at the speed, you know, I was driving up to maybe 180 miles per hour. And I realized in that moment I was like, "Okay, this is why Lewis Hamilton is the only black man in this sport."
"You know, but by the end of it, I mean, I'm just exhilarated. I'm so fortunate, so happy to be a part of the movie, and props to Hamilton and our director, Joe Kosinski, for fighting for Joshua to be someone like me. You know, because he's gonna inspire so many other people to get into the sport. So that's brilliant."
Idris also spoke with Sway on the groundbreaking representation this film brings to the sport, and how he’s redefining what it means to be a global movie star, which you can check out here.
F1 hits theaters on June 27.
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