20 Things You Didn't Know About Drive
Revisiting Nicolas Winding Refn's masterpiece 10 years on.
Believe it or not, it's been over a decade since Nicolas Winding Refn's neo-noir masterwork Drive was first released in cinemas around the globe.
Refn's unconventional but intoxicating stab at a seemingly familiar narrative marked his Hollywood breakthrough, enjoying major critical and commercial success as well as forging a mighty creative partnership with Ryan Gosling.
Though it didn't go down quite as smoothly with general audiences - netting a "C-" CinemaScore - Drive is still well-regarded as a cult classic today, and has spawned many imitators over the last 10 years but few true equals.
Despite Drive's low-key production on a mere $15 million budget, Refn and co. have plenty of tantalising stories to tell about how the film came to be.
Between the casting choices that almost happened, the unique collaboration the director fostered with his cast and crew, the unexpected influence behind its opening titles sequence, and everything else in-between, here's 20 things about Drive you surely didn't know...
20. It Was Originally Set To Star Hugh Jackman
When an adaptation of James Sallis' 2005 novel Drive was first announced back in 2008, it wasn't meant to star Ryan Gosling or really anyone like him.
Believe it or not, Hugh Jackman was on the docket to play the unnamed Driver, with the film intended to be a splashier star vehicle for the actor rather than the more niche movie it turned out to be.
Needless to say, had the Jackman version gone ahead, the Driver would've likely been a markedly different character from the one that Gosling ended up playing.
Jackman's a great actor, no question, but it's easy to appreciate how Gosling was a better fit for this more pared-down version of the story.