Brad Pitt’s F1 Isn’t the First to Trim Stars – Simone Ashley & Star Wars Actor Manny Jacinto Share the Same Fate
Simone Ashley’s F1 Scene Was Cut Short, Just Like This Star Wars Actor’s Role in Top Gun: Maverick(Photo Credit –Instagram)

Brad Pitt’s Formula 1 feature F1 roared into cinemas recently, gathering strong traction for its adrenaline-packed racing visuals and high-profile cast. However, off-track, conversations have shifted to who didn’t get much time on screen. Bridgerton fame, Simone Ashley, was originally tapped for a notable role beside Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, and Javier Bardem.

Yet, in the final edit, she’s seen for only a fleeting moment, with no dialogue. Her limited presence echoes a familiar situation from Top Gun: Maverick, where a famous Acolyte star, also cast by director Joseph Kosinski, had most of his footage removed during post-production.

Simone Ashley’s F1 Cut Mirrors Manny Jacinto’s

Simone Ashley had initially been listed as one of the principal cast members in F1, a racing flick headlined by Brad Pitt. However, onlookers spotted her only in a blink-and-miss sequence, no further narrative around her character.

The film’s director, Joseph Kosinski, addressed the matter in a statement to People, explaining that trimming characters is part of streamlining a story. “It happens on every film, where you have to shoot more than you can use. There were two or three storylines that ultimately didn’t make [it] into the final cut. But Simone, she’s an incredible talent, incredible actress, incredible singer, and I would love to work with her again.”

The actress, meanwhile, shared her experience earlier with Elle, asserting, “I have a very small part, but I’m grateful to be in that movie. I got to experience many Grands Prix. I don’t think I’ll ever do anything like that again.”

The development mirrors a similar situation from Kosinski’s previous project, Top Gun: Maverick. Manny Jacinto, widely recognized for his performances in The Good Place and The Acolyte, was lined up to embody one of the Navy’s top-tier new aviators in the feature. Though he was present on set and shot his sequences, by the time the finalized cut reached cinemas, the majority of his part had been subtly cut.

Kosinski, during a 2022 chat with IndieWire, remarked, “You just don’t have room to fit everything in. You end up throwing out stuff that you are sure, when you’re shooting it, will absolutely be in the movie.”

Jacinto himself spoke about the experience in a 2024 interview with GQ. “There was this sense of where the film was going [on set], like I can see them focusing the camera more on these [other] guys and not taking so much time on our scenes. Fortunately, it still was a great experience — you get to see this huge machine at work, see how Tom Cruise works, and you get to be a small part of this huge franchise.”

Both instances involved large-scale productions and ensemble casts where final runtime and pacing shaped the outcome. While their scenes were cut short, Ashley and Jacinto have publicly remained appreciative of their time involved in each project.

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