‘You Could Hear Them Sobbing’: Speed Racer’s Emile Hirsch Reflects on Movie’s Legacy | Interview
Speed Racer star Emile Hirsch spoke with ComingSoon’s Tyler Treese in advance of the film coming out on 4K on May 19, 2026. Hirsch discussed the film’s incredible staying power and the emotional connection it has with fans. The 4K release of Speed Racer will include new bonus content featuring the filmmakers reflecting on the making of the film and its legacy.
“Fearlessly hurtling down the track, careening around, over and through the competition in his thundering Mach 5, Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) was born to race cars. But when Speed turns down a lucrative offer from Royalton Industries, he not only infuriates the company’s maniacal owner (Roger Allam) but uncovers a terrible secret–some of the biggest races are being fixed by a handful of ruthless moguls! The only way for Speed to save his family’s business and the sport he loves is to beat Royalton at his own game. With the support of his family (John Goodman and Academy Award winner Susan Sarandon) and his loyal girlfriend, Trixie (Christina Ricci), Speed teams with his one-time rival–the mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox)–to win the race that took his brother, Rex Racer’s, life: the death-defying, cross-country rally known as The Crucible,” says the official description.
Tyler Treese: Emile, such a pleasure to speak with you, especially about Speed Racer. I love this movie, and it’s rare for a film to really find its audience over time. Speed Racer is one of those that just has such a deep connection with people. It’s something special to them. What has it meant for you to see this fandom for the film really just keep growing over time, and more people love it today than five years ago, and so on?
Emile Hirsch: It really takes me aback. I almost get emotional thinking about it because when the film first came out, it bombed. It was panned. It was considered this big misfire, but it was something that we loved so much. Then, to see it organically grow over time through whispers, and then it just grew and grew and grew. There are books written in French criticism about why it’s a masterpiece. If you look up on YouTube, “Why Speed Racer Is the Greatest Movie Ever,” there’s video after video talking about how it’s one of the best films of the century, period. And to have been in a film in 2008 that was received the way it was, and then to have it have this beautiful fade.
To me, it actually makes a lot of sense because after the film came out, I said, when Speed Racer was first released, it wasn’t the smash hit. The cartoon, mind you. It was on for like two seasons. It was something that people discovered over time, and it became this massive cult cartoon. It got rereleased on Cartoon Network to a whole new generation of viewers just like me. I grew up on Speed Racer as well. So it makes sense that the movie kind of got this cool reputation where somebody tells you it’s cool, not because it’s just the movie you have to see. This isn’t the big popcorn movie that you get peer-pressured into seeing. This is something that’s cool, that people organically tell you that they love.
I went to New Beverly Cinema, and we saw a midnight screening of it about six years ago. And that was when it really dawned on me what was going on, because at the end of the movie, you could hear everybody crying in the theater. You could hear the grown men and women sobbing at the end of the Grand Prix. That’s when I was like, “Wow, it’s not just the visuals, it’s not just the aesthetic, it’s not just the racing. The film has an emotional core and a heart that really sticks with people.” I think that is the real reason why Speed Racer is roaring back right now.
One of the remarkable things about this movie is that it really feels like a live-action cartoon. Not just visually, but the performances as well. I know Speed’s more of a straight man compared to some of the more wild members of the cast. Everybody’s kind of leaning into camp a little bit. How was it just finding the right tone for your performance?
Emile Hirsch: I had watched The Matrix trilogy many times. I had actually auditioned for the Wachowskis for the Kid in Matrix 2 and 3, and I met them a couple of times. I was like 16. I was really young and nervous because The Matrix is my favorite movie. So I’ve always loved them. So, when I came in, and it was like seeing those same people that I came in for those other times, they’re just incredible.
Because I had worked with them before in the audition process for Matrix 2 and 3, I knew their protagonists. There’s a certain soft-spokenness that Keanu Reeves has in The Matrix that sort of feels like a very nice anchor to a story with more extreme elements circling. The writing is actually incredibly clear. So when I was able to read the sides and sort of imagine it, it was there for me. I remember when I auditioned for it, I auditioned like three or four times. It was one of these crazy things where it was like a worldwide casting call.
Everyone in the world was auditioning. Even if you weren’t an actor, if you were like a dude in Iowa, you were going on tape for Speed Racer in 2007. So, that was cool. In a way, the whole audition process for Speed Racer was like a competition and a journey in itself, just getting the part because everyone was trying to get it. It was cool.
Thanks to Emile Hirsch for taking the time to talk about Speed Racer.
Source: Comingsoon.net