The Big Picture

Race for Glory: Audi vs. Lancia chronicles the rivalry between the two teams at the 1983 Rally World Championship. Racing movies are compelling because they capture the thrill, danger, and obsession of the sport. Daniel Brühl has reunited with Ron Howard on the upcoming film Eden after working together on the racing film Rush.

2023 has been a big year for Daniel Brühl. The year kicked off with All Quiet on the Western Front, a film he produced and appeared in, winning four of the nine Academy Awards it was nominated for, and now he’s re-teamed with the film’s star Felix Kammerer on Ron Howard’s star-studded Eden, which is currently shooting in Australia. But before Eden arrives in cinemas, Brühl has another film racing into theaters in the new year—Race for Glory: Audi vs. Lancia, from Italian filmmaker Stefano Mordini.

Race for Glory: Audi vs. Lancia is based on the well-documented rivalry between Audi and Lancia at the 1983 Rally World Championship. The rivalry is often likened to that of a David vs. Goliath tale, as Italy’s team manager, Cesare Fiorio (Riccardo Scamarcio) was up against certain defeat at the 1983 Rally World Championships, where they faced off against the formidable team Audi, led by Roland Gumpert (Brühl). The film does an excellent job of laying out the stakes—professionally and personally—for each of the characters involved, while never losing sight of the thrills and dangers that come with the high-octane car racing world.

Speaking with Collider, Daniel Brühl spoke about his personal connections to Rally World and why audiences are drawn to car racing movies, reminisced about Ein Freund von mir and a scene from that film that might be the most memorable scene in his entire career, reuniting with Ron Howard on the upcoming film Eden, and Brühl teased the upcoming series The Franchise, where he plays the director of a big-budget superhero movie. Check out all of this and so much more in the video at the top of the article, or in the full transcript below.

Race for Glory: Audi vs. Lancia Experience the riveting underdog story of the 1983 Rally World Championships, inspired by true events. This moving sports drama puts you in the driver’s seat for a thrilling ride. Release Date January 18, 2024 Director Stefano Mordini Cast Riccardo Scamarcio , Daniel Brühl , Volker Bruch , Katie Clarkson-Hill Rating R Main Genre Drama Genres Drama , Biography , sport Writers Filippo Bologna , Stefano Mordini , Riccardo Scamarcio

COLLIDER: With Race for Glory this is your second time playing an iconic figure in racing history. What do you think it is about racing movies that is so compelling and resonates with audiences?

DANIEL BRÜHL: Well, if it’s well done like in this case, and also in the case of Rush, it translates the thrill of that fascinating, dangerous, passionate sport to the screen. If the cinematic translation works out then you delve into something that is thrilling, that is fast, and crazy when you think about it. Also, the determination—I mean, everything that’s behind the actual sport is, like, these freaks who dedicate their life to that and are competing so feverishly and are so obsessed by something. This is always fascinating, I guess, to see people who are so incredibly obsessed by something. So, that captured me two times.

So then I said yes, and my first instinct was actually “No.” I said to Riccardo [Scamarcio], “I’ve done my bit. I’ve played an iconic driver. I don’t wanna do another race film.” Just because he’s a friend, and he’s a very persistent friend, he said, “No, no, no, no, it’s not the driver. Don’t worry, it’s the Audi mensch. It’s a small part.” [Laughs] But because we’re always making fun of each other for years now, he said, “This is a nice opportunity to bring that to another level and make fun of us, Italians versus Germans.” So there was also a lot of humor in the script that I liked, and so I said, yes.

I am very glad you said yes, this movie is very great. Something I was thinking about looking at the films that you’ve done, you have voiced a car, you’ve obviously been Niki Lauda, now you’ve been Roland Gumpert. Do you have a personal connection at all with racing? Did you watch Rally World or F1 growing up or has it just purely been that your career has kind of navigated you in that direction?

BRÜHL: Yeah, I was into it, but not too much. My brother was a much bigger Formula One fan. He infected me a bit with that virus, and I always loved cars. I loved old cars and I still have one, an old Convertible Peugeot 1973 that never works, but I cannot sell it because I’m so attached to it. So, I always liked old cars. Also, with Rally, I remember I had flashbacks from my childhood in Spain — some of my uncles and cousins were into that, so I remember sitting on a couch and watching these races and thinking as a child, “Why are the people standing so close next to the race car? This is insane. This is so dangerous,” but it fascinated me. So it was a nostalgic ride for me to do this film. Something else that I love about the film is how they did it tonally. I mean, the texture, the colors, the costumes, the soundtrack, and the music, it all brings you back to the ‘80s. I was five back then in ‘83, so there were some moments watching the film, also, that I thought, “This reminds me of my childhood.”

And no, it was nothing that I was actively looking for, it just came to me. In the previous interview, I was thinking of one of my favorite scenes that I ever shot. It’s in a small German arthouse film called A Friend of Mine, where there’s one scene where me and a friend are both naked in a Porsche, and we were driving on a blocked stretch of the Autobahn, so we could really go for it. I remember that the cameras were hidden behind us with black cloth, so you couldn’t see anything, you just saw two naked guys in a Porsche, and we turned around in a gas station where there were some kids who saw us [laughs], so they didn’t see a film crew or anything. They were like, “What the hell is going on? Two guys driving in to the gas station naked in a Porsche?” So, that was one of the most memorable scenes in my professional life, and yeah, cars have always been a part of it for some reason. But also, clearly Rush. It just came to me. It wasn’t my dream to play a figure in that kind of world, no.

Daniel Brühl’s Reunion with Ron Howard Was 10 Years in the Making

I do want to touch on Rush because I love that movie so much and I love that you’ve reunited with Ron Howard on Eden. What has it been like working with him again 10 years later?

BRÜHL: Oh, it’s wonderful. It’s just the same. It was like it was yesterday. I mean, loyalty in our world and our profession is something that is rare, you know? So I remember shooting Rush one day, and he said, “Oh, hey, Daniel, I really enjoy working with you and there is a fascinating story about some guys in the Galapagos Islands, and I wanna do that with you one day.” And so I thought, “Yeah, well, Ron is the nicest guy, but will that ever happen? I don’t think so.” Now, 10 years later, I was shooting Karl Lagerfeld in Paris when I got a call from him. “Hi, this is Ron. I’m in Paris. Can I visit you on set?” It’s also so sweet that he’s curious in what I’m doing, and, “Can I come to set?” The French team, they were so nervous that Ron was showing up that nothing worked on that day, so I think that it was a complete disaster, but there he was, polite and generous and kind as he was, with his base[ball] cap. Then, at the end of the day, he said, “Do you remember that Galapagos project? I’m doing it. Would you be so kind as to read the script?” And I said, “Ron, man, you’re wonderful.”

And now we are here with an incredible cast, Felix [Kammerer] being one of them. Yeah, I just had a couple of scenes with Jude Law this week. He’s an incredible actor and man. He’s so passionate and his energy is so contagious. It’s wonderful working with him. It’s my first time that I have the pleasure to be working with him. It’s an absolute blast. So it is with Vanessa [Kirby], with Ana De Armas, Sydney Sweeney, [and] Toby Wallace. I mean, it’s a stellar cast, so I’m really having a great time, and Ron hasn’t changed a bit. He’s still the same.

I was gonna ask, over the last 10 years, what has changed for you as an actor that you were really excited to bring to this project? Where have you matured in your career and found new things that you’ve been able to bring to this film?

BRÜHL: It’s becoming more and more interesting for me personally, as an actor, I have to say. Becoming older, the parts are becoming more interesting. I mean, I had a very good kick-off when I was young-young, but then I always looked younger than I actually was, so there was a stretch of a couple of years in my late twenties that I thought, “I still get these scripts where I have to play someone who has the problems of a 19-year-old, but I’m 29.” [Laughs] So, playing a coming-of-age, I was frustrated by that. Now I think it’s becoming better and better and more complex, and the parts are more mature and it’s different stakes, different dilemmas, different conflicts that you’re allowed to portray. It’s more faceted and more intense.

Also, playing Lagerfeld was such an interesting ride this year. I always love when you feel slightly out of your comfort zone, when in the minute you say yes to something you go like, “Oh shit, how am I gonna do this?” This is what gives you the kick. I hope that it stays like that. I hope that Ron, along the process, says, “Hey, Daniel, in 10 years from now we should do this and that.” [Laughs] So, I started roughly when I was 15 or 16, the fact that I’m still here, that we are still talking, which means that apparently there’s something to talk about, that I’m still doing films and I’m working is already wonderful because it’s tough, and it’s difficult to stay in the game. You can always say knock, knock, knock on wood that it stays like that.

As we wrap up, I did want to ask about another one of your projects. We just saw the first footage for The Franchise last week, which I’m very excited for. I love the plot of that. I’ve worked on superhero movies, so that plot is right up my alley.

BRÜHL: Oh, honestly! The English and Americans… Because that’s what we don’t have in Germany—we are not really funny. Some of the guys who think they’re funny are not funny. I mean, it was never my cup of tea, so I always bow my hat. Even the Austrians, Felix is funny, the Austrians are funny! So I was always trying to get a foot in a top comedy, but it’s very difficult for a German. And also, I said a trillion times to Sam Mendes, “Thanks for choosing a German,” because I’m the only one who’s not English or American. He was looking for a director who could be from anywhere, and so when he said yes eventually, I said, “Oh my god, thank you!” And Sam said, “You know, you’re very funny for being a German.” [Laughs] And so when we shot the pilot, we had so much fun.

It’s a dangerous one, though. It’s one of those where you have to be careful to not crack up whilst you’re doing it. There’s some of these actors that–Oh god, I suffered so much with Richard E. Grant, with Billy Magnussen because just by looking at them, and Himesh [Patel], they just crack me up. And it’s the hilarious writing and the quality of Sam Mendes, [Armando] Iannucci, and Jon Brown from Succession. I mean, these three guys together, the perfection of the sense of humor, of the punch lines, of the timing is, to me, is an absolute gift. And as you said, I also have had my experiences in that universe, so it’s a lot of fun.

Race for Glory: Audi vs. Lancia races into theaters on January 5, 2024. Check out the trailer for the film below: