F1 star Damson Idris has confessed that “so much went wrong” during the filming of Brad Pitt’s latest cinematic venture.
The high-octane film features the legendary Brad Pitt as Sonny Hayes, a former F1 driver from the 90s whose career ended abruptly due to a catastrophic accident.
In the gripping narrative, Sonny steps into a mentorship role, guiding young hotshot Joshua “Noah” Pearce, portrayed by Damson, within the ranks of the Apex Grand Prix team (APCGP), a fictional eleventh squad in the racing world.
The star-studded cast also includes Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies, Kim Bodnia, Javier Bardem, Shea Whigham, and Will Merrick.
Bridgerton’s Simone Ashley was also slated to feature prominently in the movie, but it turns out most of her footage has been edited out of the final cut, reports Surrey Live.
During an appearance on ITV’s This Morning on Monday (June 23), Damson opened up to presenters Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard about the hurdles he encountered on set.
Filming for the blockbuster spanned over two years, kicking off at the iconic Silverstone circuit amidst the real-life Formula 1 frenzy.
“The scale of this is part of what makes it so impressive. You were genuinely there at these race weekends, so you’ve got to film. We all know what it’s like to film stuff where you’ve got one take to do it,” Ben began.
“You had one chance to film some of these things before the actual race took place. That’s hardcore pressure. Did anything go wrong?”
Damson candidly responded: “So much went wrong. Yeah, especially if you don’t use the bathroom before you start filming.
“If you mess up, you’re holding up hundreds of thousands of people, a live racing is happening. One time in Budapest I had a spin out… It was surreal.”
Damson went on to share how Lewis Hamilton, who was a producer on the film, helped him “capture the authenticity” of the F1 industry.
“It was amazing. We went from every single Grand Prix. The movie follows the last nine races of the Grand Prix, so we started in Silverstone, which was great,” he continued.
“That was actually one of my favourite moments because me and Brad stood next to all of the drivers, sung the national anthem and the fireworks going over.”
Damson concluded: “It was amazing, I couldn’t believe I was there. We trained in the cars for about four to five months before filming, but we are driving those cars for real.”
F1: The Movie arrives in cinemas on June 25