LEWIS HAMILTON’S acting debut has become a £240million Money Pitt.
The Formula 1 legend will feature in Brad Pitt‘s much-delayed movie – with the budget now equal TWELTH in the all-time list for films.
Hamilton said missing out a role in Top Gun: Maverick “broke my heart”.
But he will still go from Silverstone to the silver screen – and with the same director, Joseph Kosinski, as in Tom Cruise‘s 2022 Top Gun sequel.
Hollywood great Pitt, 58, plays a veteran driver who comes out of retirement to mentor a young prodigy.
Established actors like James Bond villain Javier Bardem, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies and Sarah Niles are also in the cast.
Britain’s seven-time F1 world champion Hamilton has been itching to act.
After two decades squeezing behind the wheel of a sportscar, the 39-year-old hopes to get other bums on seats – those of movie-lovers in cinemas.
But although production for Pitt’s film has continued this year, the release date is uncertain, as is the title, although “Apex” is the hot speculation.
Puck‘s Matthew Belloni reckons the budget has burst past $300m (£240m) – due to Covid but also the use of real actors in genuine race cars.
Here's how the costliest movies in history rank - with Star Wars and super heroes dominating.
Lewis Hamilton’s upcoming effort is on course to make the top 12 – meaning his first film would match the Last Jedi.
1 Star Wars: The Force Awakens, 2015 – $447m (£357m)
2 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, 2018 – $432m (£345m)
3 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, 2019 – $416m (£332m)
4 Fast X, 2023 – $379m (£303m)
5 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, 2011 – $379m (£303m)
6 Avengers: Age of Ultron, 2015 – $364m (£291m)
7 Avengers: Endgame, 2019 – $356m (£284m)
8 Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, 2022 – $351m (£280m)
b Avatar: The Way of Water, 2022 – $350m (£279m)
10 Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, 2023 – $326m (£260m)
11 Avengers: Infinity War, 2018 – $325m (£260m)
JOINT 12TH:
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, 2007 – $300m (£240m)
Justice League, 2017
Star Wars: The Last Jedi, 2017
APEX???
15 Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, 2023 – $291m (£232m)
16 Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, 2023 – $276m (£220n)
17 Solo: A Star Wars Story, 2018 – $271m (£216m)
18 Jurassic World Dominion, 2022 – $265m (£212m)
19 John Carter, 2012 – $264m (£211m)
20 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, 2016 – $263m (£210m)
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Hamilton himself and Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment are the producers, along with Jerry Bruckheimer – whose CV includes Top Dog and Cruise’s 1990 NASCAR action movie Days of Thunder.
Mercedes star Hamilton, who is switching to Ferrari next year, has previously revealed his desperation to appear in any role on TG2.
He told GQ Magazine how approached Cruise: “‘I said, “Dude, if you ever do Top Gun 2, I will even be a janitor. Just let me be in it.”
However, Hamilton got twitchy – partly due to his hectic racing schedule.
And after deciding he’d have to press the ejector seat on his TG2 dream, he added: “I remember having to tell Joe (Kosinski) and Tom – and it broke my heart.”
Now it could be only the delay over Pitt’s move that is giving him the big-screen blues.
