Actors who are also racing drivers

Michael Fassbender took part in the Le Mans 24 hour race this weekend, crashing his Porsche 911 on Sunday, cutting short his six hour stint in the car.

Fassbender has long been a motor racing enthusiast but he is far from the first Hollywood superstar to get behind the wheel of a race car and compete. It's a trend that goes back decades with the likes of Steve McQueen and Paul Newman even financing their own teams.

Read more: Michael Fassbender crashes out of 24 Hours of Le Mans race

Given the dangers that come with racing, we don't see that many stars live out their ambitions of getting behind the wheel but below, we have listed ten of Hollywood's biggest stars who have fancied themselves as the next Michael Schumacher.

Brad Pitt

With a new Formula 1 movie on his radar, Brad Pitt is taking to the race track in Silverstone in order to film scenes for his upcoming project.

The actor will be racing during the British Grand Prix weekend, though the actor is said to be racing along the track alone and in a modified car designed by Lewis Hamilton, who is also working on the production.

Per the BBC, Hamilton said of the film: "It is massively exciting to know it is all coming together and we are starting to film this weekend.

"It's nerves because we have been working on it for so long and we want people to love it and [think that] we captured what the essence of the sport is all about."

Michael Fassbender

An under the radar entrant into this year's Le Mans as part of a Porsche team, Michael Fassbender has long been vocal about being a racing fan, frequently appearing on the grid of Formula 1 races.

He actually made his Le Mans debut last year and has been racing professionally since 2021, winning one race, and scoring seven podium finishes.

Steve McQueen

The king of cool lived out his love of racing on screen in films like Le Mans and Bullitt but McQueen also raced cars and bikes in real life. He performed in a number of racing genres such as touring cars and 12 hour endurance racing.

McQueen famously finished second to Formula One world champion Mario Andretti at the 1970 12 Hours of Sebring.

Paul Newman

A racing enthusiast his entire life, Paul Newman competed professionally well into his 80s and competed in the Le Mans in 1979, finishing first in his class.

Newman also set up his own racing team that competed in the Canadian-American Challenge Cup. The Cool Hand Luke actor also competed in the SCCA National Championships in four different decades.

Patrick Dempsey

As well as being McDreamy on Grey's Anatomy, Patrick Dempsey is also something of a world class racer. Like fellow actors McQueen and Newman, Dempsey has driven for Porsche and finished third at the 24 Hours at Daytona in 2011. He has also entered Le Mans four times, finishing a best of second in his class in 2015.

Rowan Atkinson

The actor behind Mr Bean is well known for his extensive collection of Ferraris but he has also taken his car hobby to further extremes, racing professionally in the 1980s.

Atkinson raced two seasons for Renault in the car manufacturer's Clio Cup Series and has participated in events at Silverstone driving his own Aston Martin.

James Dean

The boyish actor sadly died in his beloved Porsche but the East of Eden star also competed in professional racing before his early death at the age of 24.

Dean competed successfully in a number of novice events in 1955 with ambitions to race at the Indianapolis 500 before being banned by the studio from racing during the making of Giant.

Paul Walker

Like Dean, Walker died far too young in a car and was best known for his role in the car-centric Fast and Furious series. His role in the franchise spurred his love of cars and racing and he competed in the Redline Time Attack.

He also co-owned the Always Evolving racing team and his brother Cody runs a festival dedicated to cars in his memory.

Frankie Muniz

Since breaking out as a child star through Malcolm in the Middle, Frankie Muniz has pursued his true love – racing cars. With a slight racers built, Muniz has competed in the Formula Atlantic Championship and just earlier this year, it was announced he would race a full season in the ARCA Menards Series for Rette Jones Racing.

James Garner

As well as being one of the most beguiling screen presences of his age, James Garner was a big car lover and starred in the film Grand Prix, which helped ignite his fascination with the sport.

He owned several racing teams throughout his life and drove the pace setting car at the Indianapolis 500 three times.

Gene Hackman

A little known fact about the notoriously private acting legend is that he competed in the 1983 24 Hours of Daytona.

Hackman took part in one of cinema's most iconic car chases in The French Connection and went on to race in a number of celebrity events as well as the Sports Car Club of America.