In 'Ferrari,' Driver stars as the iconic car creator and racing legend Enzo Ferrari. The biopic hits theaters Christmas Day.
Adam Driver is paying Penélope Cruz and Shailene Woodley the highest compliments after working alongside them.
Speaking with ET's Cassie DiLaura, Driver spoke about the bond he formed with the two actresses while filming Ferrari, in which he stars as the iconic car creator and racing legend Enzo Ferrari. Cruz plays his wife, Laura Ferrari, while Woodley takes on the role of Ferrari's mistress, Lina Lardi.
"Leading up to it, it wasn't something we talked about," says Driver when asked about how he approached bonding with Cruz's and Woodley's characters in each of their scenes. "I've felt that when you're working with really great actors there's not a lot of ... there's kind of a shorthand that immediately kind of happens. There's immediate respect and they're both actors who are very present, and they're not anywhere else. They're right there with you, so in a way it's easy. Then just playing the scenes 'cause the script is so strong."
Cruz and Woodley never filmed a scene together in director Michael Mann's upcoming film. They saw each other at the table read and then when Cruz filmed her scene with the paparazzi.
"That's the only day we saw each other," Cruz says. "I love her work so much. I was sad not to have any scenes with her and have everything with Adam."
Driver quipped, "It's exhausting."
For Woodley, being part of this project was a life-altering experience, she said, and that speaks to the passion Mann had for this film, which was two decades in the making.
"The opportunity to work with somebody who has spent a lifetime dedicated to perfecting and mastering a craft, it's a rare thing," Woodley says. "The world is very fleeting at the moment; people's attention span is all over the place, and Michael is dedicated and devoted to every single aspect of the process. Even now in the marketing side of this film."
She continued, "I learned so much working with him because I'd never -- even in life, in general, outside of this industry -- been around someone who was so absolutely able to focus on every single attention of detail. It was a life-changing experience."
For her dramatic transformation, Cruz said it wasn't so much about perfecting her character's waddle -- which she absolutely nailed with the help of plantillas (or shoe inserts) -- but more about knowing the person's character.
"I think the walk came after a few months preparing for the character, finding out who she was," Cruz says. "I don't think you can decide first what is the look of a character or what are the shoes. Everything has a meaning, but first you have to know what's inside. What is her mind."
Ditto for Driver, who said he's super into absorbing a lot of information about his characters and leaving no stone unturned.
"And then [you] have to be comfortable with letting all of that go," he adds. "If something in the moment comes up, that's better."
Driver also dealt with the technical part of using prosthetics and makeup. This, coupled with his information on the iconic character, helped him perfect the role.
"Mixing all that stuff together, naturally, wearing all that stuff for 14 hours a day, by osmosis you start to got here," he says.
Ferrari hits theaters Christmas Day.
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