Madeleine Saaf-Welsh: What did you know about Ayrton Senna when you were growing up in Brazil?

Gabriel Leone: I was born in ’93 and he died in ’94, so I wasn’t even one year old. But I think, if you’re born Brazilian, you immediately become a Senna fan because you’re probably going to grow up in a family of Senna fans. That’s what happened with me. I mean, even if I haven’t watched him driving live, I used to watch his videos on TV, some homages to him. And I used to get emotional because his life was pretty emotional; he was pretty emotional. It’s not famous outside of Brazil, but we have a song for him that used to be played every time he won a race. Every time I listen, I get emotional because it’s part of our culture. If you are Brazilian, you love Senna.

Senna was and still is a hero for so many children. When you were a kid, who was your hero?

GL: I’d say my father because he loves to tell stories and he’s lived a really interesting, funny life. He used to interrupt himself and say, “One day, I’m going to finish this story for you and for your brother.” In his mind, it was too heavy for us; it was too much at that moment. And then later he finished the stories and some of the ones he was saying had happened with his friend were actually about him. He lived through the decades that I wish I had lived in, the 70s, the 80s, because of their culture and music. So since I was a boy, when he was telling his stories, I used to envy him, thinking, God, I was born in the wrong decade.

In Senna, you get to live out some of those eras onscreen. Was that something that excited you about the project, stepping back into that time? 

GL: Yeah, definitely. It’s always a pleasure to play a story set back in those days because it’s another layer for me as an actor to research. It’s always fun to play any story that happened before the internet because the rhythm of life was totally different. It’s hard to remember the feeling of living in a world without the internet. So when I can play a character that lived through that era, it’s interesting.

When did you figure out that you wanted to become an actor?

GL: I always say it was by accident because when I was in school, I had a teacher who used to be an actor and he asked us to prepare a play based on Brazilian history. My class chose the 80s and to make a play about this famous Brazilian singer, Cazuza. He was one of the first famous people in Brazil who died [due to complications from] AIDS. I love his band’s music, and [my class] decided for me to play him. It was one night only for parents and teachers. At that time, I had never had any connection with art — my parents are not artists — but when I was onstage for the first time, with the heat of the lights and connecting with the audience, it felt different from anything I’d ever felt before.

There was this theater director in my school — I think he didn’t watch the play we did, but he heard about it. So this director said, “If you want to come and watch some of our rehearsals, feel welcome.” And I did. He invited me to join the company and I stayed in the company for three or four years. Then I was debuting with Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, and that was that. This casting director from the biggest TV broadcast in Brazil came and watched the last play I did. I don’t know why, because I didn’t have any connections with television people. He invited me to an audition. I didn’t get the part, but I did other auditions after it, until I got my first big role on TV and then life went on.

And now you have the opportunity to actually play Senna himself. Do you remember how it felt when you put on the McLaren racing overalls for the very first time and physically transformed into Senna?

GL: Senna was definitely the most challenging character I’ve ever played; not only because of his life and how huge our series is, but because everybody remembers how he was and the way he looks, the way he spoke. I don’t look at myself and instantly recognize Senna; it was pretty challenging for me to get there. All of the sections of this character’s composition were important — my hair and the makeup and, of course, the overalls, all of it. We were experimenting throughout our prep because at first I was like, “Man, I think it’s going to be pretty hard for me to get there to look like him.”

But still, we had lots of fun. And I remember the moment when we were doing some camera tests and I saw this picture of me with the overalls, the red ones, all dressed up. I was like, I think I got him. It’s kind of a puzzle because you have all these small parts for you to join together to make the magic happen. Of course, I was doing all the research I could, reading, watching videos to study his voice, the look in his eyes, and his energy, even the pace that he used to speak. All of it was pretty important. But definitely the green and yellow helmet and the red overalls from McLaren . . . it’s remarkable. It’s so emotional to be wearing them. 

Senna was a rare individual who was able to bring so many people together and to connect to millions. I don’t think there are many people in history that have that ability. As someone who’s spent time really coming to understand him, what do you think gave him that distinctive quality?

GL: I think he was a really truthful guy. You can feel when he was speaking, when he was giving an interview, that he was being sincere. He was just opening his heart. And that’s why lots of times he got emotional because he was really talking about his feelings and his thoughts and always being so inspiring. He was a really competitive guy and I’d say he changed Formula 1 because of the way he used to compete. Formula 1 is one of the most dangerous sports ever. Every time one wins, there’s all of this [adrenaline]; it’s pretty intense. And Senna used to win a lot and he used to let his emotions go and connect with us. 

Formula 1 is a pretty elitist sport. It’s known to be a rich person’s sport; not only the drivers, but the audiences and stuff. Brazil is a huge country with loads of different social classes, especially in the late 80s and the beginning of the 90s. In the early 90s, Brazil was having a hard time economically. Every Sunday when he was racing, it was a day to celebrate amidst all of the bad things that were happening to our people. It used to be a dot of joy amidst it all. Senna always, more than anything, made sure that people around the world knew that he was Brazilian. He was so proud of being Brazilian. He was talking to Brazilians all the time. He was connected to Brazil all the time. So I think that’s what really connected him with our people.