DRIFTER
The audience was then invested in the franchise because they wanted to see what the characters were doing with those cars.
Now, literally changing gears, since you're a car guy, was it cars first for you, or when you got this role in the movie, it opened up your door, and then you fell in love with cars, or were the cars before the films?
SUNG KANG: Well, somehow, cars have always been a part of my life since I was a young boy. Directly or indirectly, they've been there to protect me, to be my sanctuary, and teach me life lessons that I didn't even understand that I was learning when I was a young man.
Home life for me when I was a young boy wasn't a storybook tale. In fact, a childhood neighbor of mine knew that. So, this neighbor would let me hang out in his garage as he was restoring his 1963 Impala SS, and I would just ask him stupid questions. I'm like, "Well, what is that? What is SS? Where do you get that? Why do you do that?"
And the garage and the process of car restoration became a sanctuary for me. And this old man, my neighbor, taught me the privilege we
Drifter follows Tree, a lonely racetrack janitor in a small desert town who has a natural talent for drifting but is weighed down by his past. When he gets a rare opportunity to compete in a profes- sional drifting event, he learns that raw driving skill isn't enough—he must learn to trust a mentor and build rela- tionships with a newfound community to reach his potential.
The story is as much about personal growth and found family as it is about high-performance driving. The main actor is Sung Kang, who also wrote, directed, and produced the film. Many fans know him for playing Han Lue in the Fast & Furious series. In Drift- er, he plays the lead character, Tree.
have to be caretakers of these things: one's nostalgia, one's mythol- ogy, one's history. So, cars have been such a big part of my life.
Even in Hollywood, you know, we're reminded every day that we don't belong, that we're outsiders, that you're just a "guest" here. But in the car community, you go into any event like this, and you're entering someone's garage. And as long as you're sincere, somebody will share their passion with you. You're invited, and you belong. I've been somehow just lucky to be embraced by the car community. It's serendipitous that I ended up in The Fast and the Furious franchise. It's great.
FUSION: May I ask about the casting process for a movie franchise like The Fast and the Furious? You're clearly a car guy. You see this job opportunity come up. Do you roll up to the casting sideways in your AE86 Toyota Corolla and go across the parking lot? Is that how you roll up? I don't know if Vin Diesel or Paul Walker could drive a car and drift as you do. I don't know that they could do that since they're actors. I would imagine you just walked in with so much confidence, saying to yourself, not only can I act, but I can money to participate.
But drifting, if you have a rear-wheel manual LSD car, you can start
As for how the main actor is: Sung Kang is widely regarded as a charismatic and understated performer. He's especially popular among car enthusiasts because of his long association with the Fast & Furious franchise and his genuine pas- sion for car culture. Drifter is also his feature-film directorial debut, making it a very personal project for him.