February 14, 2026 | 4:02pm
MANILA, Philippines — Australian action star Chris Hemsworth pulled from experience behind the wheel to prepare for his newest movie “Crime 101.”
Bart Layton’s adaptation of Don Winslow’s book of the same name stars Chris as jewel thief Davis, who is responsible for a number of heists along Los Angeles’ 101 freeway.
Not only did Chris help produce the film, he also did much of his stunts, especially for the high-speed car chases.
The movie’s stunt coordinator Jeremy Fry noted in an interview that while it’s common for actors to do fight sequences and get accidentally punched, it’s a different thing entirely for actors to be in a car and make a mistake while filming a stunt.
“So we are extremely cautious about who we put behind the wheel,” Fry added. “Chris is one of those actors, where if he says he can do it, and we’ve seen him do it, I know he will nail it.”
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To flesh out the character, Chris considered giving Davis his own driving style, pointing out he’d have an “aggressive nature” and “unpredictable quality.”
Chris was aided by the Formula One training he had for the 2013 movie “Rush” plus other action films with intense driving scenes, however, as he rightfully indicates, Davis is not a trained racecar driver like James Hunt.
“There needed to be something gritty about it, too. I didn’t want it to look too slick and relaxed. It needed to be on the edge. It could go wrong at any minute,” Chris ended.
“Crime 101” also starring Mark Ruffalo, Barry Keoghan, Halle Berry, Monica Barbaro, Corey Hawkins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tate Donovan, and Nick Nolte premieres in Philippine cinemas beginning February 18.
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