As a result. from Canadian cover girl-turned-rising young actress Estella Warren to Chilean actor Cristinn de la Fuente to German actor-director-producer Til Schweiger, the diverse "Driven" cast is comprised of established stars and up and coming new talent, as well as many of today's top-ranked race car drivers from around the world, including Juan Montoya (Colombia), Max Papis (Italy). Dario Franchitti (Scotland) and Kenny Brack (Sweden).
Cristinn de la Fuente pursued the role of driver Memo Moreno with characteristic tenacity. '1 was watching 'Entertainment Tonight' and saw that Sly was training for a role as a race car driver." de la Fuente recalls. "I called my manager and said, 'Sly is doing a race car movie and I don't think he's going to be racing all by himself' My agent agreed and after going through the casting process and lots of waiting, here I am.
Stallone found the perfect fit for champion driver Beau Brandenburg in German actor-producer-director Til Schweiger, who has co-starred in the English-speaking films "Judas Kiss" and "Investigating Sex." "I've known Til for a couple of years, but I didn't find the right role for him until now," said Stallone. "Beau Brandenburg was ideal for him and he ate it up."
"Til's an honest, instinctive actor," Harlin adds. "In 'Driven," he is so compelling to watch for all the subtleties and cracks in his character's tough, stoic veneer.
Harlin discovered newcomer Estella Warren while reading a magazine on one of his flights to a race. "We had seen hundreds of actresses by that time and no one fit what we were looking for," Harlin remembers. "Then I was looking through a magazine and there she was. We had her audition a couple of times and she was a bit tentative and then she cut loose and we were astounded by her amazing ability to conjure up her emotions. She's an absolute natural in addition to being drop-dead gorgeous.
Warren, who got her first taste of acting while shooting a commercial for Chanel No. 5 with French director Luc Besson. says the decade she spent as a world-class synchronized swimmer helped her immensely' in terms of taking direction. Harlin concurs: "As a world-class swimmer Estella had developed a great, great discipline. It was easy to direct her because you can tell her very straight, 'Do this, don't do this,' and she does."
As his cast began to come together, Harlin shifted focus to pre-visualization and production strategy. "It was very important to me that this film be as realistic as possible," Harlin admits. "I have a lot of friends who are drivers, so I have an obligation to be true to life. As incredible as the cars, action and visuals are, this is not a fantasy action film. It's a film set in the racing world with a lot to say about human nature."
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