By George & Josh Bate
Sung Kang soared to worldwide stardom with his role as fan-favorite Han Lue (a.k.a. Han Seoul-Oh) in the Fast and Furious franchise and has ever since been closely associated with and beloved by car culture. It’s only fitting, therefore, that Kang’s sophomore outing as a director exists in the rich car community, in particular in the world of drifting.
Making its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, Drifter introduces Kang as Tree, a withdrawn janitor living in a remote desert community in California. His life is deliberately uneventful, with most of his time spent working, keeping to himself, and driving Lola, his aging Toyota Corolla AE86. Beneath that quiet routine, however, Tree is carrying the weight of a painful past and a reluctant arrangement with a local drug lord. When an unexpected opportunity gives Tree the chance to compete in a major drifting event, he takes it, even though doing so means stepping beyond the isolation that has insulated him for years.
The HoloFiles recently had the opportunity to interview Drifter star, director, co-writer, and producer Sung Kang, in addition to cast members Tamara Braun, Michael Nehring, and Gregory Cruz, about their new film, love for car culture, valuing found family on- and off-screen, what lessons Kang learned from the Fast and Furious movies to direct his latest project, and more.
Drifter is a Love Letter to Car Culture
Sung Kang is best known for his work in front of the camera, having had prominent roles in the Starz series Power and as the Fifth Brother in the miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi, in addition to the aforementioned Fast and Furious movies. But following his directorial debut Shaky Shivers in 2022 with another effort behind the camera means that the South Korean-American gets to once again be the architect of his own story.
When asked what was the kernel of an idea that set him on a path to create Drifter, Kang delivered one word: “Hope.” He elaborated, “Hoping to tell stories that have a deeper message. To leave behind a message. I yearn as an artist to tell stories that emotionally connect with the audience and this intersection between the two things that I love – films and car culture. I wanted to make a love letter to this amazing car community that’s opened their arms to me, that’s been there for me throughout my whole career and personal life.”
While Sung Kang receives top-billing in Drifter, he calls the crimson red 1986 Toyota Corolla that he drives in the film as “the star of the movie.” The car plays such a prominent role in the film and holds such emotional meaning for Tree that it is essentially a character unto itself. The car is named Lola, which Kang explains is a spin on the model name Corolla.
“It’s a very special name,” Kang said in discussing Lola. “I tested the name with kids. Like, ‘Can you say Lola?’ And they start to sing. And Lola is a female name. I felt like this car is a female. She is my protector. She is my partner.”
Finding Hope in the Drift
Over the course of the film, however, Tree broadens his social network beyond Lola as he slowly breaks free from the isolation that he has hid behind for so long. One of the key figures in this journey is Rosie, his burgeoning love interest played by Daytime Emmy Award winner Tamara Braun. Through her kindness, encouragement, and willingness to dance even during the most somber of moments, Rosie steadily breaks the shell cocooning Tree away from the world.
“She is heart,” Braun stated while describing her character. “She welcomes people in. She knows what it’s like to go through pain and trauma and not let it eat her alive and take the slings and arrows and the wounds from them and still find joy in life and still allow herself to love. She sees in Tree that he has taken those things and become very insular and protective too. She sees in him more than she sees in herself.”
Another key figure in Tree’s journey spurring him on to participate in a drifting championship is Bennett, his no-nonsense coach played by Michael Nehring. Like Tree, Bennett has become hardened as a result of traumatic past, but uses the sport of drifting as a way to embrace living once again.
“When his daughter dies, life becomes habitual,” Nehring said while discussing Bennett. “And life isn’t supposed to be habitual. It’s supposed to be lived in the moment. [That changes] when he sees Tree in that car. The reality and the memory in that moment hits him and is he going to say yes or no? And I think Bennett says a tiny yes in that moment in the film that begins to bring him back to life.”
While every character in Drifter is fallible and complex, none is as morally bankrupt and deleterious to Tree’s growth as Lantana, a local drug lord played by Gregory Cruz. In discussing Lantana, Cruz fascinatingly explored how Lantana represents a version of Tree that has fallen to the point of no return. “It’s all the anxieties, the doubts, the uncertainties in life. He’s
“He gave up,” Cruz said regarding his villainous character. “Tree didn’t. Tree is isolated and vulnerable and doesn’t really know what to do, but I don’t think he ever really gave up. If he did, he wouldn’t have responded to Rosie or everyone else.”
The Unique Lesson From the Fast and Furious Kang Applied to Drifter
With seven Fast and Furious movies (and counting) under his belt, Sung Kang had plenty of car action and technical skill to draw upon in making his very own movie about cars, but the greatest lesson Kang learned from the blockbuster franchise and applied to Drifter was far more personal.
“Fast has taught me to honor the audience,” Kang thoughtfully reflected. “It’s amazing, on my travels throughout the world daily, I am overwhelmed and humbled by how much that franchise means to people. And I wanted to make sure I never forgot that. It’s given me so much. It’s taught me so much, both in front of and behind the camera. [Both Drifter and Fast and Furious] have the same purpose – it’s to connect with people. It might be plated a different way, but the meal is still there.”
Kang is spot on. Although decidedly different from the likes of The Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift and Furious 7, Drifter is grounded in the same central theme: found family. This theme proved particularly resonant for the core cast of Drifter given their long history with one another.
Found Family is At the Heart of Drifter, Both In Front of and Behind the Camera
Kang, Braun, Nehring, and Cruz were all mentored by Sal Romeo, a respected and deeply influential acting teacher in Los Angeles. This rich history together has rendered the quartet a found family of sorts, mirroring the found family that Tree assembles in Drifter.
During the interview, the actors touchingly discussed the impact Sal Romeo had on all of their lives. “We all had the incredible privilege of working with Sal Romeo, who was our teacher and co-taught with Michael and was also the director of a theater program,” Braun explained. “Sung and I met in our first acting class in L.A. and our first scene was together. We all have that connection to Sal, who was one of the most lovely, kind, compassionate, empathetic human beings on this Earth. He was such a gem of a person. Sadly we lost him a year before we started shooting. We had that connection. We carried him with us.”
“He laid the foundation of being there for one another,” Kang continued. “He brought a bunch of dreams throughout the world together who felt like maybe we didn’t belong to this system, but [he] gave us hope. And we found hope in each other.”
“He saw the people in the shadows,” Braun added. “And he always had a place for them. If you had a good heart and your intentions were pure and true, you had a place with him.”
In wrapping up the interview, each of the actors described Drifter succinctly in three words. Braun said, “Heart, hope, and love.” Kang said, “Action, drama, heart.” Cruz said, “Soul, humanity, and hope.” Finally, Nehring said, “Mindful, connecting, heartfelt.”
Needless to say, Drifter has heart and emotion in spades and demonstrates that Sung Kang can be as assured behind the camera as he is in front of the camera.
Watch the full interview with Drifter star, director, co-writer, and producer Sung Kang, in addition to cast members Tamara Braun, Michael Nehring, and Gregory Cruz below.
Drifter made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.