Meet the stars of Brad Pitt’s new sports drama

Brad Pitt as Sonny Hayes

Brad Pitt’s been one of Hollywood’s golden boys, stealing hearts and scenes ever since his breakout role as a cowboy hitchhiker in Thelma & Louise (1991). From there, he skyrocketed to stardom with intense, charismatic turns in movies like Interview with the Vampire (1994), Seven (1995), and Fight Club (1999).

Pitt has since kept the momentum going with commercial hits like Ocean’s Eleven (2001) and its sequels, Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), World War Z (2013), and Bullet Train (2022).

He’s no stranger to awards, either — Pitt won his first Oscar as a producer on 12 Years a Slave (2013), then took home his first acting Academy Award for playing stuntman Cliff Booth in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019).

Up next for Pitt is the action-adventure Heart of the Beast, in which he stars alongside Oscar winner J. K. Simmons.

Pitt stars as Sonny Hayes, a former F1 prodigy turned NYC cabbie, gambler, and globe-trotting racer-for-hire, who gets a second shot at glory with the Apex Grand Prix team (APXGP).

Ahead of the trailer’s debut on March 13, director Joseph Kosinski hyped up his star.

“Watching Brad drive around at speeds over 180 miles an hour was impressive to see because it’s not something you can just learn overnight,” he said. “The dedication and the focus that Brad put into this process has been amazing to witness. This film has got it all: Brad Pitt, speed, thrills, an epic underdog story, drama, humor, and a little bit of romance.”

Damson Idris as Joshua “Noah” Pearce

Damson Idris may be best known as Franklin Saint on FX’s Snowfall (2017–2023), but with F1 he’s shifting gears into movie star territory.

Next up, Idris will appear in the upcoming fantasy film Children of Blood and Bone. He’ll also star as jazz musician Miles Davis in the period romance Miles & Juliette.

In F1, Idris plays Joshua “Noah” Pearce, a fearless rookie racing for APXGP who becomes both Sonny’s teammate and fiercest competitor. The actor told Entertainment Weekly he landed the role after multiple auditions and an intimidating test: taking a real race car for a spin.

“After reading scenes, we actually put him in a race car out at a track just north of London,” Kosinski explained. “We spent a day testing his skills to make sure he had enough there that we could develop it into something.”

Clearly, it paid off. Idris threw himself into the role so intensely that he kept his distance from the real F1 drivers on set. “I purposefully didn’t become friends with them because I wanted to have the mentality that they are my competition,” he told us.

Kerry Condon as Kate McKenna

Kerry Condon has been working steadily since the late 1990s, but her breakthrough came with The Banshees of Inisherin (2022), where she played the endlessly patient Siobhán Súilleabháin, sister to Colin Farrell’s Pádraic. Her performance earned rave reviews and a shelf full of accolades, including a BAFTA and Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actress.

You might also recognize Condon from Better Call Saul (2015–2022), Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017), Night Swim (2024), and Star Wars: Skeleton Crew (2024–present).

She’s also the voice of F.R.I.D.A.Y., Tony Stark’s AI assistant in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a role she’s held since 2015 and will reprise in the upcoming Disney+ series Vision Quest.

Coming up, Condon will star as Kay Summersby in the British war film Pressure alongside Andrew Scott and Oscar winner Brendan Fraser.

Condon portrays Kate McKenna, the sharp-minded APXGP technical director and Sonny’s love interest. During the Tuesday, June 17 episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Condon described her character as “basically in charge of the car” and hinted at the romantic sparks between Kate and Sonny.

Javier Bardem as Ruben Cervantes

With a career spanning over three decades, Javier Bardem’s racked up just about every major award, including an Academy Award for his chilling turn as Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men (2007).

He broke out internationally with Before Night Falls (2000), and went on to earn more Oscar nods for Biutiful (2010) and Being the Ricardos (2021). Other notable credits include Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008), Skyfall (2012), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017), Dune (2021), and its 2024 sequel.

Next for Bardem is the drama The Beloved (2026) and the Apple TV+ thriller Cape Fear, a new series adaptation of John D. MacDonald’s The Executioners that was previously adapted as Cape Fear in 1962 and 1991.

In F1, Bardem plays Ruben Cervantes, the APXGP team owner and retired racer who’s Sonny’s friend and old teammate. He shared more about his character in an interview with Formula One.

“He has to get the attention of his old friend, Sonny Hayes, who happened to be his racemate back in the day,” Bardem explained. “He needs Sonny to save his team, he knows he’s the only one who can make that happen. Ruben knows Sonny has a passion inside of him that has to do with speed and trying to get to a place where he never was before, which is to become the best in the world.”

Tobias Menzies as Peter Banning

Tobias Menzies is arguably best known for his Emmy-winning turn as Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh on The Crown (2019–2020), but he’s no stranger to iconic roles.

Some of his most celebrated credits include Game of Thrones (2013–2019), Outlander (2014–2018), and You Hurt My Feelings (2023), where he played the well-meaning husband of Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s Beth. He’s also a seasoned stage actor, most recently appearing in a 2024 production of The Other Place at London’s Lyttelton Theatre.

The award-winning actor can next be seen in Ruben Östlund’s upcoming The Entertainment System Is Down, starring alongside Keanu Reeves and Oscar nominee Kirsten Dunst.

In F1, Menzies takes on the role of Peter Banning, APXGP’s board director who is on a mission to get Ruben to sell the team. While the role was originally pitched as a “classic English gent,” Menzies had a different take.

He told The Times that he ditched the three-piece suits and reimagined Peter as a sleek, ultra-polished tech bro with a taste for casual but “unbelievably expensive” clothes, straight out of the Kendall Roy playbook.

Kim Bodnia as Kaspar Molinski

Western audiences likely recognize Kim Bodnia as the assassin handler Konstantin from Killing Eve (2018–2022), but his career spans decades of gritty, standout roles. From The Bridge (2011–2013) and The Witcher (2021) to Young Woman and the Sea (2024), Bodnia has carved out a niche playing intense, unpredictable, and oddly lovable characters you can’t take your eyes off.

Bodnia plays Kaspar Molinski, the APXGP team principal who once worked behind the scenes at Scuderia Ferrari as a skilled rear jack-man.

Shea Whigham as Chip Hart

Shea Whigham is the guy who shows up in a movie and instantly makes you go, “Hell yeah.” With a face you instantly recognize and performances that always hit, Whigham is the ultimate scene-stealer.

Whether it’s prestige shows like Boardwalk Empire (2010–2014), True Detective (2014), and Perry Mason (2020–2023), or films like Silver Linings Playbook (2012), American Hustle (2013) and the Mission: Impossible franchise, Whigham never misses.

Up next for the superstar is the comedy Western The Stalemate and the Netflix miniseries Death by Lightning.

Whigham stars as Chip Hart, the owner of Chip Hart Racing, a team Sonny races for early in his career. Of the role, the actor told Collider that it’s a “small pop-in,” but he jumped at the opportunity because he’s always wanted to work with Pitt.

Joseph Balderrama as Rico Fazio

Younger viewers tuning into F1 will likely recognize Joseph Balderrama as Julio Spring, the sweet and supportive dad from Netflix’s Heartstopper (2022–2024). But for those not familiar with the show (you’re missing out), he’s also appeared in films such as Spectre (2015), The Batman (2022), or The Substance (2024).

He’s also a well-known figure in the gaming world, lending his voice to hits like It Takes Two (2021) and Diablo IV (2024), earning him a spot in the Pixel Pack.

Balderrama portrays a character named Rico Fazio.

Sarah Niles as Bernadette Pearce

We all fell for Sarah Niles as sports psychologist Dr. Sharon Fieldstone in Ted Lasso (2021–2023), a role that scored her two Emmy nominations. But she’s been around for a while, with notable turns on Beautiful People (2009) Catastrophe (2015–2019), I May Destroy You (2020), and The Sandman (2022).

Now, Niles is shifting into movie mode, with a stacked slate including Heads of State (2025), The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025), and The Toxic Avenger (2025).

Niles plays Bernadette Pearce, Joshua’s mother. At the world premiere, the actress spilled some interesting tidbits about her character. Niles disclosed that Bernadette is from the Caribbean, and she initially played her with a Jamaican accent before deciding to switch to a Bajan one, a choice Kosinski supported.

Samson Kayo as Cashman

Samson Kayo does it all — acting, writing, and producing. He created and starred on Sliced (2019–2020) and Bloods (2021–2022), and you’ve also probably seen him on Timewasters (2017), Our Flag Means Death (2022–2023), and House of the Dragon (2024).

On the film side, Kayo has made appearances in Dolittle (2020), The Bubble (2022), and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022). He’s set to star in a Voltron live-action adaptation with Henry Cavill, Rita Ora, and Oscar nominee Sterling K. Brown.

In F1, Kayo portrays a character named Cashman.

Abdul Salis as Dodge Dowda

Best known for his role as paramedic Curtis Cooper on Casualty (2008–2009), the longest-running medical drama broadcast in the U.K., Abdul Salis has also appeared in Love Actually (2003), Flyboys (2006), and The Wheel of Time (2021–2025).

Salis is also a stage and radio veteran, voicing a role in the BBC’s 2013 adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere. Gamers might even recognize him as Joseph Morello from the horror title The Dark Pictures: The Devil in Me (2022).

Salis plays Dodge Dowda, APXGP’s top-notch chief mechanic.

Callie Cooke as Jodie

One of the coolest things about Callie Cooke is that F1 is her first big movie. Landing a role in a film of this scale early in a career is seriously impressive, and it’s bound to launch her onto the global stage beyond her roots on British television.

American audiences might recognize her from Apple TV+’s psychological thriller Surface (2025), but across the pond she’s appeared on shows like Adult Material (2020), Cheaters (2022), Henpocalypse! (2023), and Doctor Who (2024).

In F1, Cooke steps into the shoes of Jodie, an APXGP mechanic and tyre gunner. In a chat with 1883 Magazine, she revealed just how personal this project feels.

“Nothing will beat that first day walking into that read-through,” she told the outlet. “Because I grew up near Silverstone in the U.K. And that’s where the read-through was. I walked in on my first day meeting Brad Pitt and [producer] Jerry Bruckheimer and all these people. And it was in a room that I used to waitress in when I was 16.”

Will Merrick as Nickleby

Since making his onscreen debut in the third generation of the BAFTA-winning show Skins (2011–2012) as the quirky Alo Creevey, Will Merrick has popped up in popular projects here and there. You may know him from About Time (2013), Dead Pixels (2019–2021), Silo (2023), and Barbie (2023).

In F1, Merrick plays a character named Nickleby. While the actor is staying tight-lipped about the role, he did share his excitement on Instagram, posting a pic from the premiere with the caption, “Incredibly proud to be a part of this project!”