Jann Mardenborough on Finding Secret Racing Lines in 'Gran Turismo'

Warning: Spoilers ahead for the Gran Turismo movie.

We expect a certain loose application of facts in moviemaking. Even when films are based on true stories, directors can't seem to stop themselves from adding in just a few more explosions, a love interest, or a twist and turn of the real-life timeline. The creators of the recent Sony film Gran Turismo were up front about adding characters and modifying events to compress the multi-year story of Jann Mardenborough's journey from casual gamer to professional race car driver into a movie-friendly few months.

Even understanding that, we left the theater curious about two of the plot points in Gran Turismo. Did Mardenborough really find an untried racing line at Le Mans because of his gaming experience, and was it difficult for him to see the Nürburgring crash portrayed on the big screen? Mardenborough was kind enough to take time out of his promotional tour to answer both questions for us.

Car and Driver: We were surprised to see the Nürburgring crash play such a big part in Gran Turismo. Was there discussion about that when you agreed to be part of the movie?

Mardenborough: Yeah, there were discussions and of course, Nürburgring was part of that discussion. But straightaway, once I agreed to be involved in the movie, I was of the opinion that it had to include Nürburgring, not only technically but also emotionally. Those scenes afterward in the hospital, that's my perspective, and it was very dark. It's still the lowest point of my life, personally, and also my career. But it needed to be there, out of respect for the situation and the spectator who was killed in the accident.

Were there other areas in the script where you had strong feelings about how the story needed to be told?