Neill Blomkamp’s “Gran Turismo” movie from Sony Pictures packs all the adrenaline and all the emotions. Based on a true story, the film follows young Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe) as he gets the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go from a video game racer to a real race car driver. It all started with Gran Turismo game creator Kazunori Yamauchi (Takehiro Hira) who got ahold of an automobile simulator and transformed it into a very real racing experience for gamers. Dreamer and Nissan marketing executive Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom) took the love for the game a step further by giving the best players a chance to go through a Gran Turismo academy to compete for the chance at racing on some of the professional courses featured in the game.
Enter David Harbour’s Jack Salter as Chief Engineer enlisted with determining whether the transition from a video game simulation to the real deal is even possible, and the story goes full speed ahead. Key players behind the scenes include Loren Balfe and Andrew Kawczynski, who scored the film, and director of photography Jacques Jouffret.
Here’s a complete “Gran Turismo” cast and character guide.
Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe)
Jann Mardenborough dreams of racing cars, but so far, he only does so repeatedly on a screen through the Gran Turismo console. Jann isn’t your average gamer, though. He knows the details of courses and cars by heart after spending hours designing his own custom rides and racing the same famous tracks that exist all over the world. Jann’s dad puts pressure on him to do something in the realm of reality, especially because his dad played professional soccer, and Jann’s brother Coby is following in their father’s footsteps.
Archie Madekwe played Simon in Ari Aster’s “Midsommar” (2019) as well as a smaller role of the Laughing Man in “Beau Is Afraid” (2023). He portrayed Kofun in Apple TV+’s “See” and he also appeared as Ivo in Netflix’s “Heart of Stone.”
Jack Salter (David Harbour)
Jack Salter has many hesitations about taking on the role and heavy responsibility of chief engineer for GT Academy. Danny Moore recruits him while he works for the Capa family and trains Nicholas to drive gold and gaudy race cars. Once Nicholas treats him poorly one too many times, Salter walks and takes the gig preparing gamers to race professional drivers.
David Harbour is known for playing Police Chief Jim Hopper in “Stranger Things” on Netflix. He played Ernest in the Netflix movie “We Have a Ghost,” Santa in “Violent Night,” Alexei in “Black Widow” and Dexter Tolliver in “Suicide Squad.”
Danny Moore (Orlando Bloom)
Danny Moore is the dreamer who kicks off the whole story. In a marketing stunt for Nissan, Moore pitches the idea of GT academy and finding an expert gamer to train for professional racing, to a bunch of suits in Tokyo. Moore’s marketing, can-do attitude gets in the way of the real dangers of racing, with his optimism coming off as insensitive at times, but the engine wouldn’t have started without him.
Orlando Bloom is known for playing Legolas in Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy as well as “The Hobbit” films. He also appeared as Will Turner in several “Pirates of the Caribbean” installments. He is married to singer Katy Perry.
Kazunori Yamauchi (Takehiro Hira)
Kazunori Yamauchi produced and created the Gran Turismo video game. He is also the CEO of Polyphony Digital. “Kaz” as many fans know him, dedicates his life to making real racing more accessible to everyone. The real Kazunoria Yamauchi has a cameo in the film as a sushi chef when Jann visits Tokyo, Japan.
Takehiro Hira is known for portraying Kenzo Mori in the Netflix series “Giri/Haji.” He appeared as Kenta in “Snake Eyes” (2021) alongside Henry Golding and as Riku Sato in “The Swarm.”
Matty Davis (Darren Barnet)
Matty Davis is another gamer striving to become a simulation racer. He comes from the States, and he serves some serious attitude at GT Academy. He provides Jann’s stiffest competition, and the cocky attitude he has makes things interesting.
Darren Barnet is also known for playing Paxton Hall-Yoshida in Mindy Kaling’s “Never Have I Ever” series on Netflix, one of the main men in the love triangle. He starred as Tag in “Love Hard” (2021) and Grant in “American Pie Presents: Girls’ Rules” (2020).
Nicholas Capa (Josha Stradowski)
Nicholas Capa was Jack’s old mentee of sorts before he took on chief engineer at GT academy, but Nicholas did not realize what experience he had with Salter trying to help coach him. If Matty provided Jann some friction at GT Academy, Nicholas does so out in the real racing world. His flashy McLaren race cars don’t make up for Jann’s talent, and neither do his father’s deep pockets.
Josha Stradowski portrays Rand al’Thor in “The Wheel of Time” on Prime Video. He also stars as Rutger de Man in “High Flyers.”
Steven Mardenborough (Djimon Hounsou)
Steven Mardenborough goes hard on his son, at least in the beginning. He doesn’t understand how Jann can stare at a screen all day. Steven played professional soccer, and he has influenced Jann’s brother Coby into the same sport.
Djimon Hounsou has been nominated for two Oscars for his supporting roles as Solomon Vandy in “Blood Diamond” (2007) and Mateo in “In America” (2004). He plays Korath in “Guardians of the Galaxy” (2014) and “Captain Marvel” (2019) and Wizard in the DC Universe, appearing in films like “Black Adam” and “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” as well as the first “Shazam!” film.
Lesley Mardenborough (Geri Halliwell Horner aka Ginger Spice)
Lesley Mardenborough ultimately supports her son more than his father does. She even challenges her husband a bit about his assumptions when Jann ships off to GT Academy.
Geri Halliwell Horner is also known as a member of the Spice Girls, Ginger Spice. She is married to Christian Horner, a British racing and F1 driver.
Jann Mardenborough as Himself
The real Jann Mardenborough played his own stunt double in the film, driving in the more complicated shots instead of Madekwe. Here they are side-by-side.
Joo-Hwan Lee (Sang Heon Lee)
Joo-Hwan also makes it into GT Academy to compete against Jann and Matty. He makes it into the top five cut before losing to Matty and Jann.
Sang Heon Lee is known for starring as Minho in Netflix’s “XO, Kitty” created by Jenny Han as a spinoff of the “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” films.
