Aaron Paul got to experience a car lover's dream

WHEN Aaron Paul was offered the lead role of Tobey in "Need for Speed," the newest entrant in the car-racing movie genre, director Scott Waugh told the "Breaking Bad" star that he couldn't let the stuntmen do all the work. He'd need to drive all of the cars, too.

Uh, OK.

It wasn't a tough decision for Paul.

"I drove all the cars," Paul said, with glee. "I drove a Gran Torino, a Mustang, a Koenigsegg. . . . I wanted to take home the Gran Torino but they wouldn't let me."

Even without the movie souvenir, Paul got to experience many a car lover's dream while filming "Need for Speed." Based on the popular video game, the movie follows Tobey as he drives cross country to compete in an elite street race to avenge an old friend killed by a rival driver (Dominic Cooper).

Like many classic car-race movies of the past, such as "Smokey and the Bandit," sitting in the passenger seat is a comely blonde (Imogen Poots) who knows more about cars than her appearance might allow. While Poots' character may be a gearhead, Paul said the actress herself does not have a driver's license.

Unlike Poots, Paul is a legitimate car aficionado. He prefers the American muscle cars that his character favors, as well.

"I have a '65 Shelby Cobra," he said. "This is the type of car that doesn't have stereo, there's no music, but with the sound of the car you wouldn't be able to hear. It's one of those cars you drive into a parking lot and it sets off the alarms of others cars because it vibrates the ground so much." He joked that it's not really the type of car you take out on a Target run.

While Paul relished getting behind the wheel - and he's clearly proud that the film contains no CGI car-race scenes, a throwback to movies like "Bullitt" or "Vanishing Point" - there were certainly scenes that would have ended tragically had Paul been the driver, like an amazing jump over four lanes of traffic onto an exit ramp below.

"I was there on set when they did the jump," Paul said. "They prepped for that for months. I felt sick to my stomach just watching it.

"It was a pretty silent day on set. All the stuntmen would get together and say, 'I'll see you on the other side.' "