SALT LAKE CITY — Racing fans can now see the legendary 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans play out on the big screen in James Mangold’s “Ford v Ferrari.” But amid all the action and drama between driver Ken Miles and racing icon Carroll Shelby, fans may notice another familiar name: Lee Iacocca.
Played by Jon Bernthal, Iacocca, who died earlier this year at 94, was a longtime auto executive who spent years working for Ford and GM. He was integral to the launch of the Mustang, wrote a bestselling autobiography and starred in a series of well-known car commercials for Chrysler in the 1980s.
In “Ford v Ferrari,” Bernthal plays Iacocca early in his career, working under Henry Ford II (aka “the Deuce”) in the 1960s. For Bernthal, the suit-and-tie role appears to be a little outside his normal action star MO — but not as much as you would think.
“I play a lot of hypermasculine, muscular parts,” said Bernthal, known for his roles as The Punisher in Marvel’s recent Netflix series, and as Shane Walsh on TV’s “The Walking Dead.” “But I think Lee is just as strong as any character, as masculine as any character I’ve ever played. I’d say his powers are his integrity and his loyalty and his honesty.”
In “Ford v Ferrari,” Iacocca pitches the Deuce on the idea of investing in racing to add a winning sheen to the Ford brand. After a failed attempt to purchase Ferrari, Iacocca acts as liaison between Ford brass and Shelby’s team as they compete with the Italian automaker directly.
Bernthal believes Iacocca was a unique and needed fit for the Ford company.
“Lee was the son of immigrants, a real fish out of water in that company,” he told the Deseret News. “I think he really recognized that the culture was changing in the country. And he recognized that the Ford way of doing things was a bit antiquated.”
Though “Ford v Ferrari” captures the iconic Iacocca “at a time when he was hopeful and ambitious,” Bernthal said the executive’s career was far from spotless.
“He failed! He had successes and failures,” the actor said. “He cared immensely, and worked very very hard, and is a real testament to perseverance and fortitude.”
Bernthal also admires the way Iacocca treated the people around him.
“Lee really had respect for everyone,” he said. “The factory workers in Italy, the guys in the pit at the races, the drivers … it was a really big component to who he was, and I really wanted that to come across.”
If Iacocca was wrestling with an antiquated system onscreen, Bernthal was having a completely different experience working with Mangold, who built his reputation on films like “Walk the Line” and “Logan.”
“I think he’s a real genius. I have immense respect for the way in which he makes his movies,” Bernthal said, pointing to Mangold’s attention to detail when it comes to crafting scenes and creating an atmosphere.
“You could have a close-up on Tracy Letts, and behind him, off camera, Jim is having cars go by at 200 miles per hour. You’ll never see that in the film, you won’t even hear it. But Tracy hears it,” Bernthal said. “That says a lot about the kind of filmmaker he is.”
But while on set, one of the most unexpected things for Bernthal was discovering how “Ford v Ferrari” wasn’t just a story for car enthusiasts. It was also a story for families — his own included. The actor sees a lot of his father in Iacocca, which made taking on that role especially rewarding. And even his children walked away from the “Ford v Ferrari” set with some cherished memories.
“The premiere of this film was the first one I was able to go to with my kids. My oldest — my 8-year-old — he and I got to go see this movie, and the next day we went and got breakfast, and it really resonated with him,” Bernthal said. “The fact that this movie meant what it did to him, and we were able to share that experience, that’s going to be my biggest takeaway.”