Thurles star Kerry Condon on being ‘in the moment' with Brad Pitt in new F1 film
Kerry Condon hits the fast lane in her new role as a woman in the male-dominated world of F1. By Deirdre Reynolds
Kerry with Pitt in a scene from the movie
Kerry was the first choice to play Kate McKenna in F1: The Movie
Kerry Condon has spilled about being 'in the moment' with on-screen love interest Brad Pitt.
The Tipperary star is currently living life in the fast lane in F1: The Movie opposite the Oscar winner.
And she praised the Hollywood A-lister for his effortless turn as a never-was Formula 1 driver given one more shot at glory.
'Brad is just such a natural actor — it's crazy,' beams Kerry, best known for her Academy Award-nominated role in The Banshees of Inisherin.
'He's a very in-the-moment actor, and so am I. It's such a pleasure to act with him.'
Thurles native Kerry got her big break in Angela's Ashes in 1996, before going on to appear in acclaimed films like Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) and small screen hits including The Walking Dead.
Now her movie career is revving up another gear as the race director of the fictional F1 team headed by Pitt's Sonny Hayes in the high-octane action flick.
Kerry with Pitt in a scene from the movie
'Sonny is a wild card, rogue and unpredictable on track, but that's exactly what this team needs,' explains Kerry, who gets to use her own accent as Kate McKenna, whom viewers first meet at a low ebb.
'They have been a team for two-and-a-half seasons, and they have zero points. The vibe is not good, and she's lost confidence in herself.
'She's a little defensive with [Sonny] in the beginning, because he's criticising her car. But then, when he scores their very first point by playing these crazy games, there's an element of 'Huh, he's kind of smart, actually'.
'She realises that he's not being wild and crazy for the sake of it — there's a strategy here,' she continues.
'She sees a kindred spirit, in that she feels like he's smarter than he's letting on. They begin to work together as a team, which raises her confidence, and that begins their flirtation.'
Kerry was the first choice to play Kate McKenna in F1: The Movie
News in 90 Seconds - June 28th
Also featuring Javier Bardem, as the old teammate who lures Sonny back into the sport, and Damson Idris, as the up-and-comer whom he mentors, Apple Original Films' hyper-realistic production was filmed using real race cars on actual F1 tracks during Grand Prix events.
Director Joseph Kosinski revealed how Kerry's character also nods to the real-life heroines of the historically male-dominated pursuit — and why the 42-year-old was his first choice.
'I always liked the idea of a female technical director on this team,' he says. '[And] Kerry embodies all of the qualities I wanted Kate to have.
'There's a healthy tension between the engineers and the drivers — when things aren't working, maybe the engineers feel like the driver isn't driving the car correctly, and the driver feels the engineer hasn't set up the car correctly.
'When you make a movie that's as immersive as this one, it's fun to watch how the cast can become their characters — they start acting like a real Formula 1 team,' continues Kosinski, who enlisted F1 legend Lewis Hamilton as a producer on the film.
'We're travelling around the world together, going to all the races, shooting on the pit wall during real races.
Kerry as Kate McKenna
'It's like we became a real team, and you can feel the camaraderie that we built behind the scenes on the screen as well.'
'There's a live aspect to it,' adds his leading lady of the compressed shooting schedule. 'You aren't getting 20 takes.
'You have to nail it. I found it really fun.'
In-demand Kerry will next be seen in American indie film Train Dreams alongside Joel Edgerton and Felicity Jones, having recently wrapped on Pressure, the big screen adaptation of David Haig's thrilling 2014 play, with Andrew Scott and Brendan Fraser.
And she reflected on how the high-stakes world of racing seen in F1 isn't so different to movie-making.
'Kate must love racing, because it's exhausting,' she says of her trail-blazing .
'You're travelling nine months of the year. And there are not a lot of women in the sport, so there's an element of her that wants to prove the naysayers wrong — the people who think she can't do it.
'Ultimately, it's a gamble — you can do all the prep work and think about the tyres, the temperature, but after that, you just roll the dice and hope it works.
'I think the thrill of that is addictive and why people get into this environment and its gruelling schedule. They must love it.'
F1: The Movie is currently in cinemas
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Irish Times
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