Video: 5 Things You Didn't Know About 'Need For Speed'

– By Beau Behan, Film Critic and Entertainment Reporter

Originally published at 11:47 a.m. Mar 14, 2014. Edited to move video to top of the page.

• Need for Speed (2014), PG-13, 130 min, Action, Drama, Crime
• Stars : Aaron Paul, Dominic Cooper, Imogen Poots
• Director: Scott Waugh
• Writer: George Gatin Gatins (screenplay and story)

When it came to casting the new action-packed Need for Speed, actor Aaron Paul was always eyed to be one of the film’s cast members. Initially, it was for the antagonistic character, Dino Brewster, due to Paul’s outstanding performance as a bad guy Jesse Pinkman, in the television series Breaking Bad.

However, after ‘Speed’s’ Director Scott Waugh, DreamWorks Chairman Steven Spielberg and CEO Stacey Snider, watched Paul’s audition tape– they made the final decision to offer Paul the leading role of Tobey Marshall instead.

Like a well-built muscle car, Need for Speed was envisioned to be made with the best precision by the film’s director, Scott Waugh with so many years of experience as a stuntman. His feature film directorial debut, the box office hit, Act of Valor (2012), is one of the most realistic films ever made.

“There’s an innate trigger in humans when we know something is not real, no matter how good it may look…and Aaron Paul is real,” Waugh explains.

For the role of Tobey Marshall, Waugh says he was looking for a young Steve McQueen.

“Steve was a huge star, but was also a racer, and it was something that permeated his life,” he said. “He had this hip factor that you couldn’t explain, and we wanted to find someone who was a younger version of that... And that is Aaron Paul.”

Paul humbly acknowledges that he can understand, “why people would not automatically” think of him as Tobey Marshall.

“Tobey’s got good view on life, and he’s a true gentleman,” Paul said.

Since taking his first real acting lesson in eighth grade, Paul’s perseverance and commitment has paid off. He is now an Emmy-winning actor, and has successfully transitioned to the big screen.

In Need for Speed, he gets re-united with one of his good friends, Imogen Poots, who plays Tobey’s love interest, Julia Hammond. Their chemistry makes the bond and trust between Tobey and Julia believable and comfortable in all levels of acting.

Other than acting, Aaron Paul’s passion is being an advocate for the KIND Campaign, founded by his wife, Lauren Parsekian. It is a non-profit organization with a mission of raising awareness and healing to the negative and lasting effects of girl-against-girl crime and bullying.

As for Scott Waugh, we might find him on his spare time mapping out his next innovation. (Did you know that he and his father invented the 35mm helmet camera and handheld camera called the Pogo Cam? That’s “for real.”)

Now, we know why Need for Speed is ‘real’ to thrill and what it’s like driving a superfast car at 230 miles per hour!

Five Things You Probably Don’t Know About Need for Speed:

1. Seven different mustangs were exclusively built for the movie.
2. Other American cars featured in the film were the ’69 Ford Gran Torino, ’68 Chevy Camaro, and ’66 Pontiac GTO
3. Multiples of European super cars (Koenigsegg Agera R, a GTA Spano, a Bugatti Veyron, a Lamborghini Sesto Elemento and a McLaren P1) were also exclusively built for the movie.
4. Due to some damages to the cars during filming, they needed to be restored from the ground up within a day.
5. The De Leon underground car racing ends at Lighthouse Road in Mendocino, California.