In the new film Baby Driver, Ansel Elgort plays the titular Baby, a getaway car driver who is very good at driving very fast. (Never has anyone, or any movie, made a four-door sedan look so good.) Baby can make cop cars crash into each other, knows how to run a red without a scrape, and in a pinch, steal a car — with an actual baby onboard — without anyone getting hurt.
As it turns out, in real life Elgort is also a bit of a crazy man behind the wheel. TriStar gave him the red Subaru WRX he drives in the film. Now, he likes to do the hand-break 90-degree turn into his parent’s house in Southampton.
“I did so many stunt lessons and training and all that kind of stuff. I really got a chance to become a better driver,†Elgort proudly told Vulture Monday night at a screening of Baby Driver hosted by the Cinema Society and Avion.
“On an empty road, I’ll do some of the tricks that I learned. I’m pretty good at the tricks. I can do a J–turn. I can do a 180-degree turn, I can do the 90 power-out. That is the cool one.â€
And what song does he listen to while he’s pulling off the stunts, we asked? “Something calming,†he says. “I try to stay focused and relaxed.â€