Bridgerton star Simone Ashley barely appears in F1: The Movie, after most of her scenes were cut from the final film.
The actor was confirmed to be joining the Formula 1 racing film last summer, starring alongside Brad Pitt and Black Mirror's Damson Idris. However, she only appears briefly on-screen with no lines of dialogue and is credited as playing herself.
Director Joseph Kosinski praised Ashley’s work on the upcoming feature-length during an interview with PEOPLE. Opening up on why her role was ultimately cut, he explained: "It happens on every film, where you have to shoot more than you can use.
"There were two or three storylines that ultimately didn't make [it] into the final cut."
Kosinski added: "But Simone, she's an incredible talent, incredible actress, incredible singer, and I would love to work with her again."
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Earlier this month, Ashley reflected on the "crazy" experience of filming her "very small part" during an interview with ELLE, adding that she was "grateful to be in that movie".
F1: The Movie stars Pitt as Sonny Hayes, a former driver who returns to the sport and takes on a mentoring role, partnering with rookie racer Joshua "Noah" Pearce (Idris) on APXGP – a fictional 11th team on the grid.
The film also stars The Crown's Tobias Menzies and The Banshees of Inisherin's Kerry Condon.
Discussing her involvement with the film in March, Ashley said she’d been in talks about F1: The Movie before her breakthrough role as Kate Sharma in Bridgerton's second series.
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"It's been a long time, and you know, it's Damson and Brad's movie. I'm just so grateful that I can be part of it,” she told Who What Wear.
“You had to work as a team. Sometimes, we literally had one take for certain shots. Like, you'd see on the call sheet eight minutes to get this one thing because we were shooting alongside the races.”
Real-life F1 icon Lewis Hamilton is credited as a producer on the film, alongside Pitt, Pirates of the Caribbean's Jerry Bruckheimer and more.
F1: The Movie arrives in cinemas on 25 June.
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