THE SURVIVAL ISSUE

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To pump up the authenticity in a movie that glamourises getaway driving, there’s one easy trick: have the actor do the driving. Some of it, at least. Baby Driver stunt co-ordinator Jeremy Fry shared some insight.

MOVIE SECRETS

No matter how good the actors might get at driving, there are always moments they hand over to the pros. For the most challenging scenes, Fry and his team would use what’s called a pod car (above): an apparatus attached to the top of a vehicle that allows a stunt driver to control the car from above. “The steering wheel in the car is a dummy,” Fry says. “Usually the pedals aren’t hooked up to anything either.” Although it took some pushing to get him to shatter the illusion of the film, Fry admitted there were a lot of scenes that used the pod car. “Unless it’s a wider shot showing the whole car, it’s probably not [the actor] driving.”

DRIVING TIP YOU CAN USE

Most drivers are not close enough to the steering wheel. To have more control, Fry says, “you don’t want to be right on top of it, with the wheel in your chest but I like to sit a little closer than most people.”

AND ONE YOU PROBABLY SHOULDN’T

Getting a vehicle to spin 180 ˚ requires coaching but isn’t that hard to teach. “You can show someone how to lock the wheels, how not to do it, and different ways to move the steering wheel to get different results from the car,” Fry says. Head into your turn, then yank the E brake. Turning the wheel even the slightest bit will cause the car to rotate but if you turn it too far, the car won’t come all the way around. The toughest part is having the confidence to trust yourself.