British-Nigerian Actor and ‘F1’ Star Damson Idris Is Ready for Takeoff

Damson Idris is riding high — and low — all at great speed.

The multitalented star of “F1” can drive a race car, and even ride a panther, his mode of transport in the upcoming fantasy adventure film “Children of Blood and Bone,” in which he plays Prince Inan alongside his good friend Idris Elba and fellow actors Cynthia Erivo, Viola Davis and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

None of this has come easily. The 33-year-old Idris, who was raised in Peckham, south London, in a big Nigerian British family, failed his driving test multiple times. “But when I finally passed, I was such an amazing driver — the best in Peckham,” says Idris with a cheeky smile during a fashion shoot in a north London studio.

Now it’s hard to peel him away from his motor — or anyone else’s. He pulled up to the Met Gala in a race car resembling the one in “F1,” dressed in a Tommy Hilfiger jumpsuit and a red, white and blue helmet ablaze with 20,000 Swarovski crystals.

The cars don’t have to be fast. In his downtime, he tools around south London in one of his sports cars, or his Jeep. “I have loved driving since I was young — especially convertibles. Now and then the family come out, and jump in,” says Idris, the youngest of six siblings and uncle to 17 — and counting — nieces and nephews.

When the chance came to be an F1 driver in the film directed by Joseph Kosinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and alongside F1 legend Lewis Hamilton, and others, Idris jumped. He did everything he could to get the role, which he describes as a “juggernaut” of an opportunity.

“I was manifesting before the audition,” says Idris, who practiced on F1 simulators, competed in online games and binge-watched “Drive to Survive,” the Netflix documentary that takes a behind-the-scenes look at F1 drivers and races.

But his high energy, sense of fun — and nonstop smiles — probably also had a lot to do with him getting the part. Between outfit changes during WWD Weekend‘s fashion shoot, he bounded up and down the studio’s metal staircase — often half-dressed — punched the air with joy, and made a special request to have R&B — and Lauryn Hill in particular — playing.

Watch Out for the Clutch

Still, he had a lot to learn about race cars and his character, Joshua Pearce, a talented rookie helping has-been Sonny Hayes, played by Brad Pitt, make a comeback. The two, who ride with the fictional APXGP F1 team, have terrific chemistry, especially when they’re lobbing insults at one another.

Off-screen, there was a sense of camaraderie between the rookie and his seasoned counterpart, one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood. Idris looked to Pitt for help in many ways, but especially with the clutch which, in an F1 car, is on the steering wheel, not the floor.

“I was horrible on a clutch — and Brad was amazing,” he says. “He rides bikes [motorcycles], so he’s good on the clutch. But me, every time I’d stall it was like, ‘Damn!’ The hand clutch is not as easy as you think, especially when you’re turning the wheel” at the same time.

Idris’ positivity — and persistence — served him well during the filming, which was challenging in so many other ways.

“F1” took around 20 months to film, with the production interrupted by the actors’ strike, which ran for 118 days in 2023.

Although some of the shooting was at Silverstone, the motor racing circuit in Northamptonshire, England, the cast and crew spent much of the time jetting to Grand Prix races in the U.K., France and the Middle East, and filming in between actual races.

“We’d have these small, 10-minute windows to get out on a track, drive around it safely — and not crash in front of the crowd,” says Idris, who’d alternate driving with Pitt.

“We’d have to say our lines at specific places on the track, go at a certain speed, keep the right distance away from the car in front. It was incredibly challenging, and we were so focused, it was almost like performing theater,” recalls Idris, who began his career on stage in Ade Solanke’s “Pandora’s Box,” a family drama where he played a delinquent London teen sent back to boarding school in Nigeria.

Still, the actors managed to have a laugh. “Abu Dhabi was a hot drive — but it was so much fun,” says Idris, adding that he and Pitt “also played about in France. We got to jump in an actual F1 car — and that was interesting.”

The actors drove F2, F3, F4 and electric vehicles, which were adapted to look like F1 machines, and clocked up to 180 miles an hour, which Idris says “felt like flying.”

New Kid on the Track

Still, the pressure was always on. “F1” is Idris’ first big Hollywood film, the budget was an estimated $250 million and the director, Kosinski, is known for star-studded action movies including “Top Gun: Maverick” and the sci-fi pictures “Oblivion” and “Tron: Legacy.”

But Kosinski says Idris rose to the challenge.

“This was the first large-scale movie he’s ever done, but he had six years under his belt heading up the television show, ‘Snowfall.’ He feels like a newcomer to film, but he actually has a lot of experience and that shows because we threw him in a scene with Brad Pitt on Day One, and he held his own, went toe to toe,” Kosinski says.

“It doesn’t matter how much experience you have — I’ve seen many an actor freeze up when they step on set with an icon like that, but Damson brought it right from the beginning, and that’s exactly what I needed from him, and that character, in this film,” he adds.

Idris made his name first on stage and later with “Snowfall,” the six-season FX crime series that garnered him multiple awards for playing a young drug kingpin. He was in critically acclaimed films including “Farming,” for which he won a best performance award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival for his role as a self-loathing Black skinhead in 1970s England.

“I think Brad, as well, was very impressed,” Kosinski says. “After the first week, he turned to me and said ‘He’s gonna win,’ which is Brad’s way of saying ‘This kid’s got it.’”

The director was also impressed with Idris’ driving, even with the clutch fumbles.

“He trained for three months and went from having no racing experience to being put in a 650-horsepower, full-on, professional race car with cameras mounted — and they were blocking his eye line,” Kosinski says.

“I learned from ‘Top Gun’ that when you’re wearing a helmet and all the gear and being in something that’s moving so fast, and having to perform your scenes, it’s very tricky. A lot of times you end up with a wide-eyed, frozen stare. But Damson is doing the driving, and the focus and intensity are there. And he’s also playing the character at the same time. You never doubt for a second that it’s Joshua Pearce in the car,” the director says.

He adds: “Damson was always able to keep the car on the track and play the intention, the emotion of the scene that we needed him to play, which is a lot to process and juggle for any actor. He went above and beyond. He had that from the beginning. You can’t teach that. It’s something you’re born with.”

He also likes that Idris failed his — famously difficult — London driving test so many times.

“That’s a good thing, because on the racetrack, you have to be willing to push it to the limit — and to look convincing. You don’t want someone playing it safe in the middle of the track. You want someone who’s willing to go to the very edge, to look like he’s pushing, because that’s what these Formula 1 drivers do every single weekend. Maybe it’s good that Damson had a hard time following the rules,” he says.

More Sparkling Water, Please

Idris’ costar Kerry Condon, who plays Kate McKenna, the first female technical director of an F1 team, says she understood Idris’ work ethic — and determination — from the get-go.

“We weren’t established film stars like Brad, and the both of us had this feeling like, ‘Oh my god — this is big for us, and we really want to nail it, to do a good job.’ There were hundreds of millions of dollars on the line, and we’re acting opposite Brad, so there was this undercurrent of ‘I hope I’m doing a good job,’” says Condon, whose role in the 2022 film “The Banshees of Inisherin” earned her a BAFTA and an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress.

Condon, who’s originally from County Tipperary, Ireland, also points out that she and Idris come from a “working-class background,” which added a whole extra layer of pressure. “It’s very different if you come from nothing and you have absolutely zero connections in this business. I was really proud of Damson. And we made it fun. Joseph really encouraged fun on the set.”

Condon felt protective of Idris during the filming, which was often grueling. Idris and Pitt had to eat and train like professional race drivers, who hover around a minimum weight of 80 kg, or about 175 pounds, which includes the helmet, shoes and suit.

“It’s double the work because you have to practice the driving, be on a diet and prepare your scenes,” Condon says.

“You’re hungry because you have to watch your weight — and not for aesthetic reasons. You can’t get into the seat and drive if you don’t diet. It’s so physical and there were lots of times when he was hungry, and I kind of took care of him in those moments. Because I know when you’re hungry, your emotions can kind of run riot,” she adds.

“I would always look out for Damson. If he seemed like a little down or tired or was in a bad mood, I would suggest sparkling water. I suggested it so much that it became a joke on the set,” she says.

Forgoing a hearty meal would have been difficult for Idris who, during the interview, talks about his favorite Nigerian restaurants in London: Enish, 805 and Stork in Mayfair. “I’m giving you all the shout-outs. Go and get some goat, some jollof rice and some plantain — you’ll like it,” he says.

Learning From the Masters

Between filming — and sparkling water breaks — Idris filled his time asking questions.

“I was just a sponge, really. I was able to just be a kid around these guys and ask them questions about their experiences. I would ask Javier Bardem questions about ‘No Country for Old Men,’” he says referring to the actor who plays Ruben Cervantes, the APXGP team boss who recruits Pearce and convinces Hayes to return to racing.

“Every single day was a life lesson, a moment of history that I’m going to use in my career,” Idris adds.

His career is destined to be an eclectic one. Idris already has set up a production company with FX called Keep Quiet, which he says specializes in “fun crime.” He also has a fine jewelry line called Didris, inspired by his mother Silifat’s business.

“Didris is an homage to my mother. She loved gold and she bought it in Nigeria in her 20s. Then she’d fly to Europe, sell it, make a profit, go back to Nigeria. With that profit, she would better the livelihood of my family in the U.K. This new venture is me picking up where she left off,” says Idris, adding that his mother is very proud of his work.

“She wants all the pieces. I’m probably still gonna have to charge her,” he says.

The designs are made from 18-karat yellow and rose gold; the pieces are handcrafted in Mumbai with diamonds and gemstones sourced from Namibia, Botswana and South Africa. The diamonds are certified by the Kimberley Process, which was established by the United Nations General Assembly Resolution to remove conflict diamonds from the global supply chain.

“Because of the heritage of Africa, our natural diamonds mean so much to me, and my DNA,” says Idris, adding that he’s “excited to be a young man in the fine jewelry space — there are not a lot of people like me.”

The Didris jewels are bold, glittering with diamonds and colored gemstones and inspired by Nigerian rope and bead craft. The logo is an interlocked double D, which Idris describes as an “embrace,” while studs are held in place by six claws, representing Idris’ six siblings, all of whom moved on to corporate careers. 

He was the baby, the showman, but he still had to get a university degree. His mother would not have had it any other way. “I knew I had to go to university because everyone in my family did and my mum was like: ‘You need to get your picture up on the wall with everyone else,’” Idris says.

Hitting the Books and the Stage

Idris’ siblings had grown up watching him perform, whether that was playing soccer, rugby or impersonating people, so they urged him to study drama. He went to Brunel University in London, and left with a BA in theater, film and television studies. And he’d do it all over again.

“I would recommend university to anyone, for the life experience. You meet so many people from different walks of life who grew up in different areas. It was refreshing,” Idris says, adding that today he gets a similar buzz from traveling. “It’s the cure to all ignorance,” he argues.

He always loved film, but it was only when he landed the role of Tope in “Pandora’s Box,” which debuted at East London’s Arcola Theatre in 2012, that he knew acting was for him.

“It was when I got my first laugh that I realized this is definitely something I’m gonna do forever,” he says. “Having my family come and watch me pretend to be someone else in front of other people” was a big thing. “They have supported me ever since. It really is beautiful.”

He’s supporting them right back. During the interview Idris says one of his nephews recently had an audition for the “Harry Potter” HBO series, which is set to be released in 2027.

“He’s nine years old, so we’ll see. And he needs to be prepared for the lovely rejections that come in this business,” says Idris, who’s had to swallow many of them.

“Not only is it humbling, but it lets you know that acting is really a 10,000 hour sport. If you approach it from an arrogant, foot-stamping point of view, you’ll have a very short career. My advice to anyone starting out is ‘Leave your ego at the door,’” he adds.

His mother is fan number one, follows all his moves on social media and wonders — like everyone else — about his love interests.

“If I post something on social media — no matter how many comments I have — my mom’s reading all of them. She’s like, ‘How many wives do you have? They keep saying they want you to get home for dinner.’”

Asked about his love life, he declines to comment.

Condon says Idris had a lot of fun going out after shooting was over for the day. “I loved hearing about his escapades. He had a lot of dear friends on the movie, especially Samson [Kayo, a fellow Peckham native]. He’s another wonderful actor, and the two of them were a real pair,” she says.

In an interview, Condon also talks about Idris’ “movie star” looks, but says she didn’t gush too much on set “because I didn’t want him to get cocky.”

Dressing the Part

Idris is certainly working those looks, and says it was his mother who encouraged his love of dressing up.

“Since I was a child, my mum would dress me in these suits for my birthday. On my fifth birthday, everyone was wearing whatever they wanted, but of course, I was in a full-on, three-piece suit with jewelry and everything,” he says.

“I always had a love for the luxurious side of fashion, because I knew it linked to special moments and special events. It would be for my birthday, for a party or for Christmas. Then as I grew older, I kind of just fell in love with fashion through many of my heroes, Marlon Brando and Sidney Poitier.

“Those guys were very classic to me, and I wanted to emulate them. I wanted to be a good example of prestige and good taste, so fashion just was something I always knew I’d get involved in, no matter what I did for a living,” he adds.

During the shoot, he looks at a photocopy of fellow racing enthusiast Gene Hackman as a young man and says, almost under his breath, “Gene Hackman…that man could wear a tux.”

Idris spent some of his first paychecks from “Pandora’s Box” on a pair of Prada shoes, and has never looked back. Now, he’s a brand ambassador for Tommy Hilfiger and Prada, while his character Pearce wears an IWC performance chronograph on screen. (IWC logos also appear across the race cars, drivers’ race suits and helmets in “F1,” a clever blast of branding.)

Although he knows the brands well, his love of fashion goes far beyond the logo.

“I definitely like to make an impression. I think for me, how you dress really defines your mood. I had a long period where all I wore was black, and I had a summer where I only wore beige,” he says. “It really does change, depending where I am in my life. Now, I’m definitely at the fine boy, no-pimple stage in my life, so it’s luxury, luxury, luxury,” and at full throttle.

Fast Forward

Sometimes he feels it’s all too good to be true.

Kosinski says Idris told him during one of their many airplane journeys that he’d developed a bit of a fear of flying.

“He told me that he now realizes he has so much to lose. And I’m thinking to myself, ‘That is so Damson, that’s such his point of view.’ Things are going so well for him that now he is actually scared of flying,” the director says.

“But you get this feeling when you work with someone — and I’ve had it a couple times in my career — where you can tell someone’s just about to take off, and go into the stratosphere, and I definitely have that sense with Damson. It’s going to be very exciting to see where he goes from here,” Kosinski adds.

Wherever it is, wheels or not, he’ll likely get there at high speed.

Photographer: Zeb Daemen

Styled by Alex Badia

Groomer: Nohelia Reyes

On Site Producer: Joel Gilgallon

Senior Market Editor, Accessories: Thomas Waller

Fashion and general assignment editor: Hikmat Mohammed

Fashion Assistants: Violet Goldstone, Kimberly Infante & Ari Stark

Videographer: James Maiki

Video Editor: Angel Mizhquiri