Gran Turismo: The hero starred in one of the most disturbing films of recent years

Currently in theaters, the motor racing film Gran Turismo is adapted from the video game series of the same name and is inspired by the harrowing story of a gamer-turned-driver. In the skin of the latter we meet Archie Madekeve, who appears (among others) in the series SF See and the disturbing horror thriller Midsommar.

Born in London in 1995, Archie began studying theater at the BRIT School at the age of 14. He then joined the National Youth Theater and continued his studies at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. He thus acts in many plays, e.g Თkha and Who is Sylvia? With Damian Lewis. At the same time, he is going through castings.

Archie Madekwe makes secret appearances in series such as Casualty, Les Miserables and Hang Ups. The young actress rose to prominence in 2019 in Teen Spirit, Max Minghella’s first production. We see this in the same year in the disturbing Midsommar, where a group of young people find themselves trapped by a deep sect in Sweden.

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Archie is increasingly being asked to slip into the skin of the other twin Kofun alongside Jason Momoa. This Apple series, set in the distant future where humanity has gone blind and reverted to a primitive state, is a huge success. It follows the SF thriller Voyagers starring Tye Sheridan and Lily-Rose Depp.

Next, Archie Madekewe reunites with the Midsommar director for Beau Is Afraid, an odyssey directed by Joaquin Phoenix at the top of his game in a small role. In the same year, he starred alongside Gal Gadot in the action film Agent Stone and most notably played the protagonist of Gran Turismo, the live-action adaptation of the famous video game saga.

But above all, this feature film is inspired by the story of Ian Mardenborough, a relentless gamer turned professional racing driver: “He feels trapped. He’s stuck in his small town where the same things happen every day. But he’s driven by an all-encompassing passion and desire to rise above his situation.”

“He is passionate about cars and crazy about Gran Turismo – the only thing he dreams of is becoming a driver, but this has always been out of reach for him… until an opportunity presents itself: he is offered to live on an experience that consists in training players to become real racers drivers”– explains the actor.

To be believable, Archie Madekwe would have to learn a driving simulation and be able to actually participate in the game. Grand tourism. The Londoner recalls: “I had to be really good at this game. To shoot the scenes in the cafe with the consoles, we practiced playing against the AI, which was hard and I had to win.”

Archie was also coached by David Perelli, who, like Mardenborough, was a simulator driver and part of the Ferrari team: “PlayStation sent me a simulator – the seat, the steering wheel and the pedals. And as soon as I finished the pre-shoot, I had to practice. Learning to drive on a circuit takes a lot of skill.”

“You have to learn the racing lines, the curves and feel the brakes. And once you get used to it, you have to repeat the gestures, again and again. All this caused a lot of admiration and a lot of respect. For the pilots, because the exploits that they carry out in the circumstances that they perform, delusional is an event.The young actor is graduating.