Anthony Ramos Wasn't Licensed To Drive Before Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts

Actors have to pick up all sorts of skills in order to effectively pull of stunt-heavy performances, but when it comes to "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts," Anthony Ramos had to learn to do something that many people do every day: driving. 

The "In The Heights" actor attended a panel about the upcoming "Bumblebee" sequel at South By Southwest this week, and /Film's Ryan Scott was in attendance. There, Ramos, screenwriter Jon Hoeber, director Steven Caple Jr., and co-stars Dominique Fishback and Tobe Nwigwe talked about the fact that Ramos got his driver's license for the first time ever ahead of making the film.

"So I heard this story and I need to know if it's true," Hoeber, who was moderating, said to Ramos after the actor spoke about the adrenaline rush of shooting stunts for the film. "I heard it's true, but I don't believe it. So now that I have you here, I'm going to ask, is it true that you had to get a driver's license to do this movie?" 

Ramos replied, "I, in fact, did get my license for the 'Transformers' movie," a reveal that garnered cheers from audience members in the room. The Brooklyn-born 31-year-old likely hasn't had much use for a license before, which Hoeber points out. "This is what you get when you get real New York, right?" he said in response to the actor's admission.

"I'm very proud," Ramos continued, adding, "it's one of the biggest accomplishments of my entire life." His co-star Fishback, another New Yorker who has appeared in shows and films like "The Deuce" and "Judas and the Black Messiah," then revealed that she still doesn't have her license. "Hopefully Anthony can teach me," she joked during the panel.

First looks haven't shown Fishback's character behind the wheel, but Ramos does plenty of driving in these "Rise of the Beasts" trailers. Or, rather, he anxiously sits in the driver's seat, insisting to cops that he's not actually driving while Mirage (Pete Davidson), the Transformer that can turn into a 1993 Porsche 911 RS, takes control.

While two of the film's three human leads grew up in a concrete jungle that made driving more a chore than a required skill, rapper and "Mo" actor Nwigwe had a totally different experience. "I'm from Texas. I've been driving since I was 13," he explained. Still, Nwigwe was excited to get behind the wheel of the Porsche that's set to be synonymous with the new move. He says he drove one not on set, but at a place called the Porsche Experience Center — which the film's director, Steven Caple Jr, recommended — for his birthday ahead of SXSW. "I had the most incredible, immaculate driving experience I've ever had in my life," the actor shared, describing a "certain level of intensity" he's never had while driving. "I'm used to driving your family car: baby seat, nice, slow defensive driving. I was very offensive."

It's great to hear that at least one star of the car-heavy movie got to put the pedal to the metal; the movie's first promos reveal an action-packed, New York-set plot featuring a conflict between three groups of Transformers. At another point in the panel, director Caple revealed that the movie takes place in 1994, when hiphop was in and clunky cars of the '80s were out. Mirage and the New York crew will hit the big screen in "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" on June 9, 2023.