Simone Ashley’s role was cut from F1 because there was too much footage.
Simone Ashley’s storyline was cut from F1
The Bridgerton actress was cast in the Formula One racing drama alongside Brad Pitt and Damson Idris but director Joseph Kosinski had to drop a number of storylines from the finished film, including the scenes featuring the 30-year-old star.
Simone has a brief on-screen appearance but no dialogue in the movie, and the director told People magazine: “It happens on every film, where you have to shoot more than you can use. There were two or three storylines that ultimately didn’t make into the final cut.”
However, Joseph praised Simone’s “incredible” talents and insisted he’d love to work with her on another project.
He added: “But Simone, she’s an incredible talent, incredible actress, incredible singer, and I would love to work with her again.”
While Simone hasn’t yet spoken about not making the final cut, she previously admitted making F1 was a “once in a lifetime experience.
Speaking at IWC Schaffhausen at their Watches and Wonders booth in Geneva, she said: “(It was a) once in a lifetime experience. So grateful to be part of that film and part of the long journey that they’ve all endured.
“We got to experience everything in real time at the real races, the real Grand Prix, the roar of the crowds, the roar of the engines, the chaos, the energy. I got to travel all over the world.”
Simone explained that she prepared for the movie – which IWC Schaffhausen have collaborated with by sponsoring ‘APXGP’, the fictional 11th team on the grid – by “immersing” herself with the cast.
She said: “I’m very grateful to be part of this movie and my preparation for it was to just be part of the team and to just immerse myself within it all. I made some great friends on this film, which really meant a lot to me.”
And Simone compared the experience to starrring in a theatrical production because of the unique challenge of filming scenes at the same time as the world’s leading drivers were preparing for Grand Prix around the world.
She said: “It felt just like theatre, like waiting in the wings, waiting to be called to go on to the grid or wherever we were filming. Sometimes we only had like five minutes or 10 minutes of access to film a scene.
“Every time we were filming on the grid or parc ferme we would all be gassed up and excited. Getting ready together, Brad would be playing music – even talking about it makes me have goosebumps. It was just indescribable.”