(L to R) Damson Idris, Kerry Condon and Javier Bardem star in ‘F1 The Movie’.
Opening in theaters on June 27th is ‘F1 The Movie’, which explores the world Formula One auto racing. Directed by Joseph Kosinski (‘Top Gun: Maverick’), the film stars Oscar winners Brad Pitt (‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’) and Javier Bardem (‘No Country for Old Men’), as well as Damson Idris (‘Snowfall’), and Kerry Condon (‘The Banshees of Inisherin’).
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of sitting down in-person with Javier Bardem, Kerry Condon and Damson Idris to talk about their work on ‘F1 The Movie’. Condon and Bardem discussed how they approached their characters and filming during real Formula One races, while Idris talked about preparing for the intense driving sequences.
Related Article: Movie Review: ‘F1 The Movie’
(L to R) Kerry Condon as Kate and Kim Bonia as Kaspar in Apple Original Films’ ‘F1’ a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures / Apple Original Films. Copyright: © 2025 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Moviefone: To begin with, Kerry, can you talk about your approach to playing Kate and was this a fun character for you to portray?
Kerry Condon: Yeah, it was of course, because it was a super intelligent character that wasn’t one note. It wasn’t like, “This is the intelligent, nerdy character.” It was like there was lots of different flavors to her that made her more of a real person. I was really encouraged to go with my instinct and bring a lot of my own personality and to have fun too, which was wild to be encouraged to have fun on such a high-pressure job. I was encouraged to enjoy it.
Javier Bardem as Ruben Cervantes in Apple Original Films’ ‘F1’, a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures / Apple Original Films. Copyright: © 2025 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
MF: Javier, how did you approach playing your character and can you talk about his relationship with Sonny Hayes?
Javier Bardem: For me, it was more about the relationship, the love relationship of a friendship with Brad’s character and how much they respect each other, need each other, and despise each other when they’re not in the same page. It was about creating that relationship and bringing it to the screen, for us to understand that at the end of the day, you really must sacrifice yourself to make the team win. All the personal things must be forgotten to make it more about the team.
Damson Idris as Joshua Pearce in Apple Original Films’ ‘F1’, a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Photo by Scott Garfield. Courtesy Warner Bros Pictures / Apple Original Films. Copyright: © 2025 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
MF: Damson, I understand you did your own driving in this film, what was that experience like and how did that help your performance?
Damson Idris: That was the first thing I asked when I first met with Joe (Kosinski) and Jerry (Bruckheimer), I said, “When you guys did ‘Top Gun’, the actors were in the planes for real, right?” They’re like, “Yeah.” “Are we going to be driving the cars for real?” “Yeah.” I was like, “Oh,” and I put on my poker face. I was like, “I could do that easy,” but growing up I always loved fast cars, so getting in the cars and going through these corners, I knew it was going to be just the most fun. We trained for four months every single day so we could look real on screen. Yeah, it was the best experience. Going from track to track, I don’t think anyone’s ever going to be able to experience what I have. No actor, anyway.
(L to R) Kim Boonia as Kaspar and Javier Bardem as Ruben Cervantes in Apple Original Films’ ‘F1’ a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures / Apple Original Films. Copyright: © 2025 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
MF: Finally, Javier, when you shot the racing scenes, they were at real races in front of real Formula One fans. What was that experience like for you performing in front of all those people?
JB: I remember Silverstone, it was the first day of shooting for me, and Joe and Brad were with the drivers and the planes flying overhead and then the camera will follow them through the whole crowd. We have a conversation, Brad and I in front of thousands of people. That’s a different kind of energy, like a theater play, but seen by thousands of people at the same time. That puts you in a place of really a lot of adrenaline.
Editorial Note: Krisily Fernstrom conducted this interview and contributed to this article.
Racing legend Sonny Hayes is coaxed out of retirement to lead a struggling Formula 1 team—and mentor a young hotshot driver—while chasing one more chance at… Read the Plot
What is the plot of ‘F1”?
Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt), a Formula One driver who raced in the 1990s, has a horrible crash, forcing him to retire from Formula One and start racing in other disciplines. A Formula One team owner and friend, Ruben (Javier Bardem), contacts Hayes and asks him to come out of retirement to mentor rookie prodigy Joshua “Noah” Pearce (Damson Idris) for the Apex Grand Prix team (APXGP).
Who is in the cast of ‘F1 The Movie’?
Director/Producer Joseph Kosinski on the set of Apple Original Films’ ‘F1’, a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: Photo by Scott Garfield. Courtesy Warner Bros Pictures / Apple Original Films. Copyright: © 2025 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.
List of Joseph Kosinski Movies:
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