The Big Picture

Gabriel Leone discusses how he channeled Marlon Brando’s energy to portray Alfonso de Portago in Michael Mann’s Ferrari biopic. Leone shares his excitement and gratitude for working with Michael Mann and Adam Driver, calling it a dream come true. The racing scenes in Ferrari were shot on a real track, while in Netflix’s Senna, an LED studio was used for close-ups. Both projects showcase the importance of racing in their respective contexts.

Michael Mann’s first feature in eight years, Ferrari, is now in theaters. Starring Adam Driver, Penélope Cruz, and Shailene Woodley, this biopic takes a close look at a paramount time in Enzo Ferrari’s life, during the early summer of 1957. The renowned auto engineer was still mourning the death of his son with his wife and business partner, Laura Ferrari (Cruz), when their luxury empire was facing a decline, adding pressure to showcase his life’s work in the final deadly Mille Miglia.

In a conversation with Collider’s Steve Weintraub, Gabriel Leone, who plays the aristocratic racer, Alfonso de Portago, sits down to discuss how he worked with Mann to research Portago, a Spanish noble, an accomplished sportsman, and a playboy of his time. He shares how they captured the character by evoking Marlon Brando’s energy, why working with Mann was so special to him, and how the racing scenes compared to his turn as Brazilian idol, Ayrton Senna, in Netflix’s upcoming miniseries, Senna.

For more on Ferrari and the six-episode Formula 1 series, check out the video at the top of this article, or you can read the full interview in transcript form below.

Ferrari Set in the summer of 1957, with Enzo Ferrari’s auto empire in crisis, the ex-racer turned entrepreneur pushes himself and his drivers to the edge as they launch into the Mille Miglia, a treacherous 1,000-mile race across Italy. Release Date December 25, 2023 Director Michael Mann Runtime 130 minutes Main Genre Biography Writers Troy Kennedy Martin , Brock Yates

COLLIDER: I have to start with the most important question upfront. When did you decide that you would only play race car drivers?

GABRIEL LEONE: [Laughs] I didn’t, it was just a huge coincidence.

Related Kaya Scodelario Joins Netflix’s Formula One Series The streamer has yet to reveal which role she will play.

What’s interesting is these are both incredible people, incredible stories, and you can’t say no to either role, but it is weird.

LEONE: Definitely, and it happened almost simultaneously. The tape for Ferrari I did probably in July or the end of June, and I got the part. Then I did the Senna tape in July, and I got the part. I heard news when I was there in Modena prepping for Ferrari, so it happened simultaneously. I knew that I would be playing racing drivers for more than a year-and-a-half.

Gabriel Leone Channeled Marlon Brando for ‘Ferrari’

Jumping into Ferrari, you’re playing a real person. As an actor, how much are you, in the preparation process, trying to learn everything you can, but at the same time, this is not a literal translation, you know what I mean?

LEONE: Yeah, and because the movie wasn’t about him, of course, we didn’t have much information about De Portago. Me and Michael, we did the most we could to research, to find information about him. I found this book, I found this old vinyl of him giving an interview, we had the photos, but most of all Michael wanted me to find his personality. He was a playboy of his time, he was also a sportsman, he was a noble, he was a Marquess from Spain, so that’s what we looked for during prep was to find this energy. Also, there was a mission to [evoke a] Brando style and energy, so I did some research. Of course, we watched some early Brando movies. So, that was it.

I am a huge Michael Mann fan, I would imagine you are, as well. What surprised you about working with him that you didn’t expect going in?

LEONE: For me, it was kind of a dream. I’ve always been a huge fan of his, too, of his movies, and to have the first experience out of Brazil shooting and acting in English to be directed by him, and to be on scene with Adam was unbelievable for me. I learned so much from them. I have a cool story with Michael. My dad watched The Last of the Mohicans with me when I was a kid, and the first time my dad went to Europe was last year in Italy. I took him to the set, he visited the set, he watched Michael directing me, and then I introduced them, and it was like a full circle moment for me. It was an amazing moment I have, so I’m very thankful to Michael for it all, not only for the opportunity to be in this movie, but to have the whole experience.

Netflix’s ‘Senna’ Filmed Racing Scenes Using an LED Studio

Yeah, I can’t even imagine. So you’re filming the racing scenes in this, and obviously you filmed racing scenes in Senna. How were the racing scenes in both projects similar, and how were they different?

LEONE: In Ferrari, we shot all the scenes on the real track. For some of them I was driving, some of them I was on the camera car. In Senna, we had, also, the stunt drivers that shot. We had a performance unit shooting separately from us and we used LED studio to shoot all of the close-ups. It’s a six-episode series for Netflix, so we have loads of racing scenes from his early years for Formula 3, for Formula 1. So, that’s the difference between both projects — Michael really shot on the real track for most of it and Senna would use, for the close-ups, the LED studio.

I don’t think people realize how big of a star he is in Brazil and to the racing community. For people that don’t know, he’s the Brad Pitt.

LEONE: Yeah, I’d say he’s even more because he’s one of the biggest, if not the biggest idol from Brazil, not only from sport. For any Brazilian Senna is our biggest.

Ferrari is in theaters now.

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