There must be a connection between the acquirement stage set of histrion and that of race car machine driver . Perhaps it ’s the adrenaline charge and desire to conform to anything thrown at them . That happens regularly in front of the camera , as well as on the slipstream lead .
12. Rowan Atkinson, aka Mr. Bean
Although he is best know as the comic wizard behind the slapstick fibre Mr. Bean , comic Rowan Atkinson is a serious wash car driver and cannonball along partizan .
When not filming movies such asJohnny Englishand television exhibit such asBlackadder , Rowan Atkinson spends his clip hie around tracks across the world and writing for slipstream car magazines .
He previously owned a McLaren F1 race car , which he break apart , and , in the 1980s , he drive a mid - engined Renault 5 in the Manufacturer ’s Turbo Cup racing serial publication . He also drove his own Aston Martin airstream car at the famous Silverstone result in 2010 .
In 2014 , Rowan Atkinson was involved in a serious head - on collision while race a vintage Ford Falcon sprint car . as luck would have it , the comic walked aside with only minor injuries . The car itself was tote up .
11. Walter Cronkite
Believe it or not , iconic newsman Walter Cronkite was an avid slipstream car machine driver and respected wheelman . What ’s interesting about Walter Cronkite is that he accomplished most of his racing wins before he was a household name as the host of the CBS Evening News in the sixties and 1970s .
Back in 1959 , Walter Cronkite took third place driving a Volvo PV444 at an survival race held in Lime Park , Connecticut . Later that same yr , he co - drove a Zagato - bodied Lancia Appia in the 12 - hr of Sebring backwash , where his squad finished the race in 40th place .
Still , Walter Cronkite remained an avid race car driver his entire life and continued to vie in famous person events as he grew older . Eventually , though , he traded in his race car for a sailboat and became an avid yachtswoman , competing at regattas around the United States .
10. Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise is so passionate about race car driving that he turned his love of the sport into the passion projectDays of Thunder , a 1990 motion picture about line railway car racing . Tom Cruise was urge on to take up race elevator car drive by his admirer and cobalt - star in the 1986 filmThe Colour of Money , actor Paul Newman .
However , despite his love of racing , Tom Cruise was known as a bad driver . So bad that Tom Cruise earn the byname among other drivers of “ See Cruise Crash . ” The trouble , according to the histrion ’s driving instructors , he was too strong-growing behind the steering wheel . Cruise himself has fault his struggles behind the wheel on his dyslexia .
disregardless of the grounds , Tom Cruise eventually had to give up racing as the movie studios he worked for refused to assure him if he persist in to pursue the risky sport . Still , Tom Cruise remains a passionate race fan and has even appear on the BBC television showTop Gear .
9. Paul Walker
It was the acme of irony that Paul Walker , star ofThe Fast and the Furiousfilm series , died in a gondola crash . Yet before his death , Paul Walker was not only the star of movies that have car racing ; he was himself a race gondola gadget driver and proprietor of a well-thought-of race automobile team .
A talented and skilled number one wood on the racetrack , The Fast and the Furiousstar compete in the Redline Time Attack racing series drive a qualify BMW M3 , and he was co - owner of the Always Evolving amphetamine shop and racing team , which still races today after his end .
The team dedicate each of its races to the memory of Paul Walker .
8. Frankie Muniz
Frankie Muniz was beloved as the cute midway child and titulary fibre ofMalcolm in the Middle . It seemed like Frankie would go on from starring in his own show to enjoy a uncivilized calling in film and television , but as he worked through the awkwardness of adolescence , he grew to appreciate the finer things in life — like horsepower .
One thing that is beneficial for rush driver is a small stature . Frankie stick out at 5’5″ , and was able to slide well into the cockpit of various backwash cars . Frankie has competed in several racing serial publication , include recipe racing , where he love a Top 10 ending in the 2009 Formula Atlantic Championship .
Frankie is back in front of the camera these days , including an show inSharknado 3 : Oh Hell No !
7. Jason Priestley
Jason Priestley is a enthralling celebrity . He made his money act , but in the process , set drift in American culture . Everything about his eccentric Brandon Walsh onBeverly Hills 90210,was emulated by dudes around the world . The mode trends from that show were a planetary phenomenon .
Jason enjoyed the renown , and he did what any Canadian tike who grew up a fan of auto racing would do : He embark on racing . Jason considered himself a hobbyist , but he did race competitively , and he was almost killed in 2003 when he hit a wall coming off a turn in an Indy auto doing close to 180 miles per hour .
After his fortuity , Jason moved away from life story behind the wheel , yet stayed in the racing world as a team owner . FAZZT , the team he co - owned , enjoyed a 10th place refinement in the 2010 Indianapolis 500 .
6. James Garner
James Garner was a racing enthusiast and the owner of a professional racing team that competed three season in some of the world ’s most esteemed survival races ; however , his true cacoethes was for off - route motorsports .
The Army veteran did n’t head being in the dirt , and he was subservient in avail to farm the popularity of the famed Baja 500 , a slipstream made more pop in recent years thanks to the documentaryDust to Glory(2005 ) .
Regarding his time behind the wheel , James relish more than a few races in the late 1960s and early 1970s . He was offered the honor of drive the pace car for the Indianapolis 500 on three different occasion .
That ’s just as good to the sport of racing as it is to the lucky driver , but who could say no to drive the Indy 500 Pace Car ?
5. Steve McQueen
How could Steve McQueen not be a race car gadget driver ? The guy seemed destine to sit behind the wheel . Steve McQueen always possessed the edge needed by a great race driver .
To put it in 21st - century terminus , he was a troubled youth . He did time in several reform school , and remarkably , once he got out of shoal , the Protestant Reformation was complete .
Steve McQueen was the definition of cool in the 1960s and former 1970s , and for a time , he was the most popular movie champion in the business . Most gondola enthusiasts will equate Steve McQueen to Frank Bullitt , and when you thinkBullitt , you think badass , pure muscle , 1968 Ford Mustang .
After that film , Mustang sales went through the roof . Steve was adept at driving cars and enjoyed telling finishes in survival race . He also raced motorcycle , choose the off - road variety — before the twenty-four hour period of MotoX.
4. Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman can reasonably much do it all : comedy , drama , car racing . The humanity who has rack up two Oscars , and since retired from acting , enjoy a vocation that spanned multiple tenner of performing , as well as auto racing .
According to Hollywood lore , Gene light in like with the approximation of racing car after he filmedThe French Connection , in which he did a lot of his own stunt drive . The pinnacle of his racing career occurred in 1983 when he raced for Dan Gurney ’s team in the 24 Hours of Daytona .
The survival races are best set for individual who are hobbyist , or only race part - time , as the various vehicle classifications allow driver to get behind the rack of a vehicle they can master . That ’s often where you ’ll see actors make the transition , including the human race at # 3 .
3. Patrick Dempsey
McDreamy race cars ? Does n’t everyone remember Patrick driving that lawnmower inCan’t Buy Me Love ? It was prognostication , was it not ?
Patrick Dempsey is possibly the most talented driver on this listing , though he ’s likely not the most well - known for his driving skill . Patrick has driven in some of the most prestigious endurance races in the earth . In fact , he has competed in the most esteemed , the 24 time of day of Le Mans .
To shift more proof into the pud , Patrick was ride for Porsche . That sort of says it all , does n’t it ?
2. Paul Newman
The legendary Paul Newman passed off in 2008 . Yet in 2000 , he was vie in the Petit Le Mans . And in 2006 , he became the onetime competitor to ever start the Rolex 24 , at eld 81 . Legend .
Anyone who knows racing is conversant with Newman / Haas Racing , and if there was any confusion , yes , it isthatNewman .
Paul Newman was a legend on the airstream track . He owned well-nigh as many ornament in run as he did in acting . He was that good . Patrick Dempsey showed a similar attainment set to Paul , but he may never touch Paul ’s longevity , nor his accomplishments on the path .
It only made sense that Paul ’s net use was voicing Doc Hudson inCars . Addressing all of Paul ’s on - the - rail accolades : He finish second overall in the 1979 24 hour of Le Mans and placed first in class at the 1995 24 hour of Daytona .
1. James Dean
This list might not exist if it were n’t for James Dean . The actor had a deep passion for auto racing . James began racing before he shotRebel Without a Cause , and could n’t await to get back to the track after filming wrapped . He loved it so much , Warner Brothers contractually forbid him from his racing habit until he finished shootingGiant .
James was the first actor to venture onto the race track boldly , and he was focused on becoming a well-thought-of subspecies equipment driver once he finish his workplace on that particular film . A devotee of Porsche , James bought a 550 Sypder with the aim of racing it .
He never enjoyed the opportunity — at least , not on a approved data track . James was killed drive his new Porsche to Salinas , California , to enter in a racing effect .
