Daniel Br
The epic action-drama stars Chris Hemsworth (The Avengers) as the charismatic Englishman James Hunt and Daniel Brühl (Inglourious Basterds) as the disciplined Austrian perfectionist Niki Lauda, whose clashes on the Grand Prix racetrack epitomized the contrast between these two extraordinary characters, a distinction reflected in their private lives.
Set against the sexy and glamorous golden age of Formula 1 racing, Rush portrays the exhilarating true story of two of the greatest rivals the world has ever witnessed—handsome English playboy Hunt and his methodical, brilliant opponent, Lauda. Taking us into their personal lives on and off the track, Rush follows the two drivers as they push themselves to the breaking point of physical and psychological endurance, where there is no shortcut to victory and no margin for error. If you make one mistake, you die.
What knowledge did you have of Niki Lauda before this film?
I grew up in Cologne in Western Germany, which is not too far from the race track where the accident happened. So when I was a kid, we all knew who Niki Lauda was. He was a hero and an icon. So it felt quite strange when I was sent the script and asked to play him because I had a lot of respect and it was a huge responsibility. We don’t have that much in common, which scared me at first because I really didn’t know how to play this guy. But thanks to the support of Ron (Howard, Director) and Peter Morgan (Writer) and Niki himself, it worked out well.
You got to know him quite well eventually, didn’t you, and even had him on speed dial?
Yeah, I could call him 24/7 and the most important time in the preparation was all that time I spent with Niki - that was the most important aspect of the preparation. He even took me to the Brazilian Grand Prix and introduced me to modern drivers. And he was so open to answer any question, even the most delicate ones, because I didn’t know at first if I could dare to ask things about the accident and about death and fear and vanity and what it is like to live with this concept, for instance, with the accident. But he wasn’t restrained at all. He just helped me with anything he could. And even now he was so happy because we got these [Golden Globe] nominations. He texted me that he took off his cap [Lauda rarely removes his cap since the crash as it hides his scars] and that he’s willing to fly me in a private jet to LA, which sounds good to me!
The more you got to know Niki, did you feel you had a certain affinity with him? Were there similarities between you both that you discovered?
Not really! I’m happy that I met him now, in his early sixties, because he’s milder now than he used to be. And he got very emotional in fact when we watched the film together, which was quite surprising to me because the fist time I saw him he seemed to be quite cold and still a bit distant. And of course he is that calculating mathematician, analysing kind of guy, in comparison to this flamboyant, playboy James Hunt, which was what made it so interesting in the script because he’s a different sort of man. But still, now and then he would open up and [show] the man, the human being behind this tough façade. That’s what I wanted to show in the film as well – to make him more transparent and emotional, especially towards the end; but [there are] no similarities. But I have to say that I admire him and respect him. And I envy him in a way because he is so straightforward and 100% honest and sometimes I wish I could be like him, because he never avoids conflicts and if he feels something, he says it straight to your face. It can be shocking sometimes and I was also quite confused when we first met. I’ve told it many times but I find it so funny - he said on the phone that I should just bring hand luggage to Vienna in case we didn’t like eachother , so I could piss of right away. Not many people would say this but I find this quite unique and refreshing.
Rush is available now on Blu-ray DVD and to download, courtesy of StudioCanal
