Chris Hemsworth Feels the 'Rush'

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The Avengers star Chris Hemsworth feels the need for speed in Rush, the new Formula 1 film from Oscar-winning director/producer duo Ron Howard and Brian Grazer -- and ET's Mark Steines is first on the set of the epic action-thriller, based on a true story!

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So, first and foremost, is Chris an adrenalin junkie? "I read something about the guys who do things like this and why, and it's a need to kind of feel like they're in the moment," explains the Aussie star. "When you're kind of flirting with death like that, you can't be anywhere else but in that position, and there's something very satisfying about it. … I think we all have elements of that. That's why we bungee jump or do stupid things."

Olivia Wilde, Daniel Brühl and Alexandra Maria Lara also star in the spectacular, big-screen re-creation of the merciless 1970s rivalry between Grand Prix racers James Hunt and Niki Lauda.

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"I don't think anyone's ever made a good racing movie like this, says Olivia. "I mean, this is introducing people who don't know about Formula 1 to the sport in a way that will make you hooked. … You're basically sitting in a little bomb and flying around a track at 170 miles per hour. It's intense."

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Set against the sexy, glamorous and spectacular golden age of Formula 1 racing, Rush finds Hemsworth as the charismatic English playboy Hunt, while Inglourious Basterds star Brühl plays the methodical Austrian perfectionist Lauda -- two men whose clashes on the Grand Prix racetrack epitomized the contrast between their extraordinary personalities and pushed them to the physical and psychological breaking point.

Look to get your Rush in theaters next year…