See the Stars of “Ferrari” Compared to the Real-Life People They Play in the Movie

Michael Mann's 'Ferrari' starring Adam Driver, Patrick Dempsey, Penélope Cruz and more, hits theaters on Dec. 25

Patrick Dempsey stunned fans when he showed up at 2022's Disney D23 Expo rocking bleach-blond hair for his role in Ferrari. But the Grey's Anatomy alum is hardly the only person who underwent a total transformation for their portrayal of the real people in the upcoming Michael Mann film, in theaters Christmas Day.

Adam Driver, Penélope Cruz and Shailene Woodley were all nearly unrecognizable thanks to their transformations to portray the figures in the biopic, which follows Italian racer and entrepreneur Enzo Ferrari's life in 1957 as he dealt with family woes while preparing for the Mille Miglia (Thousand Mile) race through Italy.

Below, see the Ferrari actors compared to the real-life people they portray.

Adam Driver as Enzo Ferrari

Playing the title role is Adam Driver who, despite being number one on the call sheet, still wasn't allowed to drive any of the fancy cars he was pretending to have pioneered.

"As I said before, making a movie is a miracle and they don’t want me touching the thing that’s the most expensive part," Driver said during a press conference at the Venice Film Festival in September. "I don’t drive the cars, except in pre-production we raced Ferraris — obviously, newer Ferraris, can’t afford the other ones. And then at the beginning, I’m not driving that one, it’s on a dolly."

"Again, they don’t trust me with small pieces of equipment. Big pieces of equipment like sandwiches, they will let me handle," Driver joked.

Patrick Dempsey as Piero Taruffi

Patrick Dempsey was so committed to his portrayal of Italian racecar driver Taruffi, he completely transformed the feature he's best known for: his magnificent mane. PEOPLE's 2023 Sexiest Man Alive shocked fans when he showed up to Disney's D23 Expo last year sporting bleach-blond hair.

"I love it, it's great. It's fun to do something different. Unfortunately, or fortunately, I'm known for my hair. So, this has really jacked up a lot of people, they don't know how to embrace it. Either they love it or they hate it," he told Variety at the time.

"I like it. Dye your hair, have fun. Blonds have more fun, I have to tell you, it's true," Dempsey said, adding: "I'm in Italy, driving race cars. So, I can't complain."

Penelope Cruz as Laura Ferrari

Playing Enzo's wife Laura Ferrari is Penélope Cruz, who was eager to take on the role but ran into some difficulties when it came to getting some background info on her subject.

“Nobody knew about Laura,” Cruz told Entertainment Weekly. “So we started to do research together. We ended up looking for people who knew her, and even talking to strangers in the street, because there was very little written about her. There was no video or audio of her, nothing.”

And despite her effort to dig into Laura's life alongside director Michael Mann, all they got was that "'she was crazy. She was difficult. She was a witch. People were scared of her.'" The lack of information only fueled Cruz, who used Laura's tough reputation to give her more depth in the film.

“This woman was involved from day one,” Cruz told the outlet. “If she had such a difficult personality, it was because of her loss and her deep pain, her struggle to make it through the end of the day each day. It represents so many women around the world still living in very similar situations today.” 

Shailene Woodley as Lina Lardi

Shailene Woodley plays Laura Ferrari, Enzo’s mistress and the mother of his only surviving son, Piero Ferrari.

“I like to refer to her as the love of his life,” Woodley told GMA3’s Eva Pilgrim. “It was Italy during the war. Enzo and Lina met, started this romance and she got pregnant during the war and they decided to stay together throughout her pregnancy and raise this child together."

Gabriel Leone as Alfonso de Portago

Playing the audacious, ill-fated ladies' man and Formula 1 racer Alfonso de Portago (who died while racing in the Mille Miglia) is Brazilian actor and musician Gabriel Leone.

“He was [a] gentleman,” Leone told InStyle of the multi-faceted de Portago. “He was a sportsman who rode horses; he went to the Olympics with the Spanish bobsled team. And one day, he just decided because he had the money, he wanted to start driving professionally."

“When the script describes my character, it describes him as a young [Marlon] Brando — not only because of the way he dressed but because of his energy, because of this background being a playboy and full of confidence,” he said of his character.

Sarah Gadon as Linda Christian

Sarah Gadon plays Mexican actress Linda Christian in the film. Known for being the first Bond girl (in 1952's Casino Royale), Christian was in a relationship with de Portago prior to his untimely death in 1958. In fact, a photo of her kissing the famed racer moments before his fatal accident was dubbed "Il Bacio della Morte" or "Kiss of Death" by the press.

Jack O'Connell as Peter-Collins

Playing Formula 1 racer and former Ferrari driver Peter Collins is fellow Englishman Jack O'Connell who, even though he didn't get to do much driving either, told On Demand Entertainment that he felt like "a kid at Christmas" while on set.

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