Director Michael Mann’s Ferrari biopic makes its North American premiere at the New York Film Festival on Friday, October 13.
Prior to the premiere, stars Adam Driver and Penélope Cruz, who portray Enzo Ferrari and his wife, Laura, spoke at a press conference about the preparation that went into crafting their performances.
Driver did as much research as he could, finding even the smallest of details useful. He learned that Enzo “would sign things with purple pens, for example, because he didn't want anyone to duplicate his signature.”
“Which, to me, was really helpful. It just spoke to someone who was really paranoid,” Driver continued. “This image of him being – after his brother had died and his father had died – being alone, really having to forge his own path, and it being a catalyst for how he lived the rest of his life, was an internal thing that we talked about all the time.”
Underneath all his armor, Driver said Enzo is “someone who is very much a duck.”
“Calm on the surface, and then furiously paddling underneath,” he explained.
Cruz had the opportunity to speak with Enzo and Laura’s doctor, whom Enzo considered a close friend. That doctor provided her with copies of love letters shared between Enzo and Laura, some even written after Enzo was romantically involved with Lina Lardi.
“He really valued [Laura's] ideas and the eagle eye that she had to know when people were lying,” Cruz said. “I'm not saying that was the only reason why they stayed together. But there was also a big real love and huge amount of pain. And those letters were very important for me to understand who this woman was, and also who he was.”