Go for a ride with the cast of 'Speed Racer'

By RICK BENTLEY
McClatchy Newspapers

"Speed Racer," the new live-action take on the quirky Japanese anime series, speeds into theaters Friday. Since the movie is all about cars, driving fast and driving even faster, cast members were asked about their memories of their early driving days and their interest in automobiles.

Who: Emile Hirsch

Plays: Speed Racer

You know him from: "Into the Wild," "Alpha Dog," "The Girl Next Door"

"I remember my first car well. It was a blue Ford Festiva. I really am a car guy. When I got this part, me and a friend looked up on YouTube NASCAR wrecks. Some of these fans have made up these crazy films with all of this heavy metal music.

"I am a very, very conservative guy when it comes to driving. The fastest I have ever gone in a real car is 60. After I saw the NASCAR wrecks, I was so freaked out I wanted to go drive 30 miles an hour."

Who: Matthew Fox

Plays: Racer X

You know him from: "Lost," "Party of Five," "Vantage Point"

"I have always been a car guy. I think being a race-car driver was one of about 100 different things I wanted to be when I was 5 years old. So I have always been into cars.

"I am still into cars. It is kind of a hobby of mine. I like taking 1950s designs and turning them into modern designs. I don't do the work myself. But I conceptualize it and have a lot of input into the details.

"As for 'Speed Racer,' the cars are so far beyond what we are doing now. But within the context of its own world, I think it is beautiful and amazing what they can do."

Who: John Goodman

Plays: Pops

You know him from: "Roseanne," "The West Wing," "The Big Lebowski"

"I grew up real poor, and we didn't have a lot of money. I didn't get a car until I was 18. My mom, I don't know where she got the bread from, but she plunked down 500 bucks at this chiseler's used-car joint. It was a `64 Galaxy, four-door piece of ... fine automobile.

"I would get hot-rod magazines so I could talk the talk. But when I tried to tune up my own car, it was not unlike a chimpanzee.

"Now I see these guys on the street with these old GTOs, and I go 'ahhhh.' It is the same as when I was a kid, except maybe now I have enough money to buy one."

Who: Christina Ricci

Plays: Trixie

You know her from: "The Addams Family," "Penelope," "Sleepy Hollow."

"I drive. I don't love it. My car is kind of broken right now. Probably the fastest I have driven in the past is about 80."

Who: Susan Sarandon

Plays: Mom

You know her from: "Enchanted," "Dead Man Walking," "Thelma & Louise"

"I don't really know much about cars. But I drove pretty fast in 'Thelma & Louise.' Then I couldn't stop driving fast after that. I completely lost my perspective."