David Harbour is no stranger to things with a cult following, and the actor says he’s not worried about about what video game fans make of the new Gran Turismo movie.
The Stranger Things star plays real life retired driver Jack Salter in the movie, which tells the true story behind the creation of GT Academy, when Nissan first took a PlayStation gamer and turned them an F1 driver in 2008.
“I am not actually worried about the fans’ reaction, to be honest, because I’m so proud of the movie… it’s really a sports movie,” Harbour tells 9Honey Celebrity.
Watch the video above.
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Comparing it to video game The Last of Us, which was turned into a hit TV series earlier this year, Harbour says they don’t have that pressure of playing beloved characters in the same way.
“This is different,” the 48-year-old says. “This, the video game occupies a certain place in the narrative but it’s not like we’re characters in the video game, we’re characters in this story of how the video game is used.”
“I also think it’s a very aspirational story for a guy who’s really into gaming – the idea that you could be sitting on your couch one day and spraying champagne bottles at Le Mans [and] being a world champion the next,” he continues.
“I mean, I don’t think any gamer out there is going to be upset about that type of movie.”
In the film, Salter is seen giving plenty of tough and direct pep talks to the gamers training under him in the GT Academy.
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But Harbour, who is step-dad to wife Lily Allen‘s two daughters – Ethel, 11, and Marnie, 10 – says it doesn’t quite work at home.
“What’s funny is like, I get to do that in the movie and I tried to do that with my kids and they just laugh and laugh, or they’re like, ‘Whatever David’ and just walk away,” he tells 9Honey Celebrity with a laugh.
“So, I don’t know if Jann and those racer kids would have done that, ‘Whatever Jack’ and walked away and probably would have stopped those speeches, but they don’t get to do that the script.
“It’s really great in a movie, because you get to do it but in my real life, I have not found that to be effective.”
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Orlando Bloom plays a British marketing executive based on Darren Cox, the man who came up with the larger than life concept, while Archie Madekwe plays Jann Mardenborough, the man who won the inaugural competition.
Geri Halliwell plays Mardenborough’s mum Lesley and the 28-year-old actor tells 9Honey Celebrity his sister “was catatonic” to meet the Spice Girl during filming.
The pop star-turned-actress obliged Madekwe off-screen in other ways too, connecting him with her husband Christian Horner, who is in the racing biz.
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“She introduced me very kindly to Christian who gave me, you know, little bits of racing tips and just kind of padded out the world as I understood it already,” he tells 9Honey Celebrity.
“[He] just gave me a little bit more context of what it’s like in the pit, the tension between other teams, etcetera, and was very gracious and kind about giving me his time.”
Madekwe, who most recently starred in Jason Momoa‘s Apple TV+ series See, not only played a real person in the film but worked with the real Mardenborough, who acted as his stunt driver.
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After spending hours on the gaming console before filming the movie to try and get up to the real Mardenborough’s level, Madekwe admits he’s not too sure how good he is anymore.
“I went headfirst, immersed myself and now, I’m decent but if you were to put my skills to the test, I don’t know,” he says.
“I don’t know where I’m at now. I don’t know if it’s like riding a horse, we’ll see.”
This interview was conducted before SAG-AFTRA and its members went on strike. Gran Turismo hits Australian cinemas on August 10.