These 2 ‘Fast and Furious’ Stars Didn’t Have Drivers Licenses Prior to Filming
Few movie franchises are as successful and long-running as the Fast & Furious franchise. It all started in 2001, with the release of the film The Fast & The Furious, and is still going strong to this day, with the release of the hit movie F9.
For fans, nothing is more exciting than seeing their favorite franchise stars, including Vin Diesel and Tyrese Gibson, racing around in incredible sports cars, all set to a soundtrack of the day’s hottest hits. Over the years, the franchise has spawned several spinoffs, video games, and a wildly successful merchandising empire — but it is the movies that remain the heart and soul of the Fast & Furious series. While many of the franchise’s stars go through rigorous stunt training prior to filming, two of the actors featured in the series notably didn’t even have driver’s licenses.
The ‘Fast & Furious’ franchise is wildly successful
The Fast & Furious franchise, also known as The Fast Saga, consists of nine films, with a 10th film already in pre-production. While the films have all experienced various levels of success, with some of them being wildly successful and others receiving a more lukewarm reception, one thing has remained consistent — hardcore fans of the show have been there for every single release, since the beginning.
Some critics have slammed the franchise for being exploitative or full of senseless violence. Others have claimed that the movies don’t contain any real substance — but fans love the nonstop nature of the films and the trappings of excess, from the fast cars to the beautiful models.
Two ‘Fast & Furious’ stars didn’t have drivers licenses before getting cast
Action stars like Vin Diesel and Paul Walker dedicated themselves to working out hardcore before filming the Fast & Furious movies. However, according to an Insider report, actors Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez, who both have important roles in the Fast & Furious franchise, were missing one important thing — driver’s licenses. “I didn’t drive,” Brewster revealed, admitting that the director of The Fast and the Furious, Rob Cohen, told her to prepare for filming by watching “a bunch of Anna Magnani movies.”
Brewster stated that she had never needed a driver’s license before because she had always taken public transportation. However, if she didn’t get a license prior to filming, she wouldn’t get insured for the movie. “Within a week of taking my driving test, we were flown to Las Vegas for this special driving class. So I had to pass or I wouldn’t have been in the movie,” the actor said.
The actors in ‘Fast and Furious’ have to undergo rigorous stunt training
It was a good thing Brewster and Rodriguez got their licenses when they did. Only days after passing the test and getting their licenses, the actors, along with the original stars Vin Diesel and Paul Walker, were put into a special driving school, learning how to drive Formula One cars in preparation for their street racing scenes. Rob Cohen later admitted that “we could see right away Paul was going to be an ace driver. It was clear he had a natural talent. He had no fear. You could see he was falling in love with the whole car business.”
There’s no doubt that so much learning on the fly was stressful to new drivers like Brewster and Rodriguez — but they were able to make it work, and ultimately, their driving scenes all look incredibly convincing.
