Fast X Director Reveals the One Actor Who “Terrified” Him Doing Action Stuntwork

Universal has finally released the next film in the Fast and the Furious franchise, and fans are racing to theaters to see it. Fast X was released to mixed reviews, with some people calling it the worst in the franchise. The film brings back most of the cast, which includes Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, and even Charlize Theron. It seems like Theron is a force to be reckoned with, so much so that director Louis Leterrier was “terrified” to work with her while doing stunts. While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Leterrier revealed exactly what terrified him about working with Theron.

“It was. It was a goal from the start to literally get her out of the box that F9 had her in and get her kicking ass. And frankly, Charlize wanted that,” Leterrier said. “When I arrived on set, Charlize was shooting Cipher’s fight against her own men, and I was terrified. I was like, ‘I’ve done a few action movies, but I’ve never seen an actor give themselves fully to a scene like that.’ Oh my God, I literally had to talk to the second unit director and ask, ‘Are we doing too much? Are we pushing her?’ And he said, ‘No, it’s her.’ She really wanted to do as much as possible, if not more. So we had to hold her back because she would have done everything if it were up to her.”

Fast X Cast Says Louis Leterrier Saved Film

“You’re ready to shoot the thing, you don’t have a finished third act and your director just quit. Welcome to the heartache,” Michelle Rodriguez recently told the LA Times during a feature for Fast X. She was recalling how Fast X had to pivot when switching directors. “There’s tears, because you don’t want things to end up wack because people are rushing things or they’re worried about money so they forget the integrity of the thing. You wonder, ‘Will they find someone who’s passionate enough to take this on and care enough?’”

She added how Leterrier “opened the doors of creativity.” “He saved us,” Rodriguez said. “He saved our ass.“

Fast X Star Praises Director

“I think everyone was looking at us going, ‘Wow, the wheels are coming off’ — no pun intended — and Louis got us back on track,” said Brewster. “I assumed that someone who just took on this job would want to go under a rock, hide and prepare and not be bombarded by everyone’s suggestions. But he spoke to every single one of us and was like, ‘Tell me your ideas. Tell me what you don’t like about the script.’ He was so generous, and that set the tone. And I think that’s very rare for a director, to be that open and not to be precious.”

Fast X is now in theaters!

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