A series about street racing that turned into a series of heist movies before eventually shooting a car into space hardly seems like the playground of serious actors. And yet 10 films in, the Fast & Furious franchise is kitted out with plenty of acting cred, counting among its extensive cast of action heroes no fewer than four Oscar winners.
Previous films featured Charlize Theron and Helen Mirren (both returning in this spring’s Fast X), who will be joined in the upcoming decquel by fellow winners Brie Larson and Rita Moreno (co-star Jason Statham doesn’t make the list, having been robbed for his work in the Crank movies).
FAST X | Official Trailer
It used to be seen as a step down for major talent to join this type of popcorn schlock, but the franchise-ification of Hollywood has made it more palatable for award winning types to have a go at slumming it. Anyway, the Fast movies are not only undisputed popular moneymakers, they’re high-end action melodramas—they might not push our finest performing talents to the limits of their craft, but they’re nothing to be embarrassed about, either. That’s not always the case when Oscar-winning casts show up in unexpected places, as these examples will certainly illustrate.
