'Fast X' Star Sung Kang Reveals His Favorite Cars From the ‘Fast’ Franchise

Sung Kang was given the opportunity of a lifetime when he was cast as Han, the ultra-cool, snack-loving mentor to Sean Boswell in The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift. Not only did it give him the chance to re-team with director Justin Lin, but as a self-professed “car guy,” it was a chance to drive the coolest vehicles on and off the market. It seemed like the dream gig was cut short when his character appeared to die in a fiery car crash, effectively ending his run in the franchise. But after taunting audiences with a few brief flashback cameos, Han was brought back to the family for real in F9, getting Kang back behind the wheel in a real way.

Men’s Journal spoke with Kang about his favorite parts of playing Han and his favorite rides from the Fast & Furious franchise, including the latest, Fast X.

Men's Journal: What's it been like to play Han?

Sung Kang: I had only dreamed of participating in movies like this when I was a kid. This character, even though he’s really just a man, his arc is that of a superhero. On top of that, I've seen the impact my character has had in this more global conversation. I’m able to change the perception people have of not only me, but maybe people who look like me. People feel like they grew up with us, and because of that they feel closer to people who look like me or Han. They watch my character fall in love, lose love, love snacks, have nice hair, be cool as shit, and all of these other things. Purpose is important, and who knew that I would find mine in these kinds of characters and conversations. Not to say I always take it so seriously. It’s a fun action flick with cool cars.

I was a big fan of Tokyo Drift when it first came out. What do you remember about the making of that movie back then?

The experience of making that movie was so unique. You know at the time we were given this freedom to do a lot of what we wanted because the movie was almost dismissed in a way. People seemed to assume that Tokyo Drift was going to go straight to DVD. The production was lower budget and none of the original cast was really participating. But we were lucky that the director was Justin Lin, who I had worked with before, and we were able to really create something. Justin had a deep desire to respect the car community, and he wanted all of our vehicles up front and center, treating them like real stars in the film.

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He was also respectful of the location and how it related to these vehicles. He said, “We’re in Tokyo, we can’t have the frame filled up with Dodge Chargers.” We were also lucky in how many great people came onboard, including him. There was a huge push for drifting to be represented properly by everyone. I remember when the movie first came out we didn’t get that many positive reactions. People weren’t coming up to say that they loved the film. Mostly people were just confused on how it was a Fast & Furious movie. Years later, now I've heard from so many people how much that movie in particular meant to them.

I feel like that movie also brought drifting into the pop culture conversation in a real way.

It’s crazy how much drifting has become part of real car culture. I meant you can go to Minnesota and find these really legit drift events. I know Chicago has a bunch of great drift events as well. You kind of expect it’s going to be all of these Asian kids from the area, but no, it’s a lot of people from all races. And a lot of them have seen Tokyo Drift. That’s exciting for me, and they can make for really great events and experiences as long as the right controls are there.

People tell me that the movie has impacted their car DNA. The cars that they're drawn to are ones we had in that movie. I've been approached on the street tons of times and people will tell me that I inspired them to get their first S13. And usually that's followed by them sharing that they've gotten five speeding tickets or so recently. And maybe spent two days in jail! I’m not so stoked when they thank me and Han for that, but hopefully they’re learning moments. But as far as communities go, the car community is an amazing one.

I have to imagine as someone who works on and collects car yourself, this has been a fun franchise to be a part of.

Being a car guy who's also an actor in this franchise is a really special gift. Every day I felt like I was in Disneyland. Every single break I had from filming I would find myself going over to the car shop where all of the guys were building the picture cars. The ability to hang out with Dennis [McCarthy] on a regular basis and have him explain to me the specs and origins was awesome.

How early do you get involved in the conversations about what cars Han drives? Like in Fast X, what did you think when you first heard that Han would be in that Alfa Romeo?

I remember when it came to Fast X there was some initial confusion on my end why Han was going to be in this older Alfa Romeo when I was picturing something more JDM. But he was able to explain the idea to me in a really detailed way, then the builders really dug into the cars to make them something fitting for Han. I remember flying out to London and I asked Dennis if I could go see the car and “introduce myself” to this Alfa Romeo.

They'd built it out there in Europe because they had to source all of these parts from across the globe. They had to find somewhere between five to seven of these cars, all around the same age, when so many of them have just rusted out over the years. This is a 1970s-era car, which means they aren’t the easiest to come by in that capacity. Not just one, but several of them that we can film, do stunts, and drift.

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The guys told me how they'd swapped out the twin cam stock motor because that was maybe 120 or 130 horsepower on a good day and they needed more. They put in this 2.3 EcoBoost Turbo Ford motor. It just so happened that I had this 2.3 EcoBoost in a Ford Maverick I'd built myself because Dennis McCarthy had put me in a Ford Maverick in Fast 5. The car also has Alfahonics resto mods, which is a dope company.

I’m glad it wasn’t chopped up to put in fender flares or anything. As I get older, the more I don’t want to be chopping up these old vintage cars.

What did you think of the color?

I was a fan. For the car geeks out there that tangerine orange on Han’s Alfa Romeo is from House of Kolor, a custom paint company that does really high-end jobs. Their colors are so rich. The Mazda FD RX-7 in Tokyo Drift also had a paint job from House of Kolor with the veil side kit.

I heard you actually grabbed one of those Alfa Romeos for yourself, and even went for the modded out one.

I mean why would I want the stock car? For me, at the end of the day it’s a story as well. I wanted the stunt car—the one that had been in those scenes. Now it’s also a piece of history in my life. It’s just another example of how these movies have helped me really lean into this hobby and create a collection of cars that are meaningful.

There are two of my cars in Fast X. There's a red and black 240Z that's Monte Carlo-inspired, which is a car I own and built with Erick Aguilar. Then there's the race in Brazil that Vin Diesel does against Jason Momoa and Daniella. It's based off the FuguZ 1973 Datsun 240Z that has a rocket bunny body kit. Every once in awhile Dennis will give me a ring to see what I think is cool in the scene, and I’ll shoot over a few thoughts. We go back and forth often like that, and it’s been really fun to be included in that part of these movies as well. Dennis feels like a partner in crime.

Is there a car someone else drove in a Fast movie you were jealous of?

Remember in Tokyo Drift when Sean Boswell, played by Luca Black, had this 68 Fastback Mustang with the Skyline GT-R engine? I was really fighting for that to be Han’s car. One of my favorite cars from film is the Mustang in Forrest Green in Bullitt with Steve McQueen. I thought it would be so cool for this Asian dude in Japan to be driving around in this old Ford Mustang. That would be some baller shit. In the last moment it changed to me ending up with the FD, which was fine of course, but I really wanted that car. I’m still kind of curious what Han’s vibe would have been like if he had entered into the franchise like that instead. Like what if he rolled up to the high school to pick up Shawn in a little American muscle?

Do you chat about cars with the other Fast cast members?

Ludacris is an interesting car guy. He still has his Acura Legend, which he's kept since the early days and has this great story about why he’s held onto it. I think having a sentimental connection to a car like that is special. It signified hard work to him. It calls back that time when he was making that move from Chris Bridges to Ludacris. I don’t think you need to know how to wrench or swap a turbo out to be a car person.

Vin and I have gotten to talk a few times about his experiences with cars today. He has a Chevelle in the garage scene we have in Fast X. That car being there isn’t random. It’s a car that Vin is building with his son Vincent right now. They aren’t in a rush to finish it, they're taking their time and really enjoying the process. Of course, Vin could get someone in there who would be able to do it all for them pretty quickly, but learning how to do it together is the more important part. Vincent is a big car nut and Vin just wants him to be happy. I think that's one of the things people don’t really know about Vin at all, that he’s one of the best dads in the world.

Do you get access to the latest and greatest new vehicles when you're in the Fast movies?

There's so much access when you're doing a Fast movie. I remember hanging out with Nathalie who plays Ramsay, and we were thinking that we had to figure out a sick car for Ramsay to drive. Something that's British and represents her character. I called my friend Rob over at Lotus and he just dropped off an Emira and gave us a full immersion into the company’s vehicles. This is a $2 billion car that was just dropped off with us.

What has the reaction been so far to Fast X and you returning as Han?

I walked around by myself the other day. There was a funny moment when I was walking up to the lady in the ticket box office and she started waving me off saying that they were closed. I was trying to explain that I’m actually in the movie and wanted to see how the showings were going. I didn’t want to flex or anything, even though the movie poster was right behind me with my face on it. I finally got her to open the door. Luckily, I started running into some fans who were getting out of screenings, who knew I was Han, and that’s when I started to get the real feedback. It’s nice to have conversations with the fans. In a way I prefer that over the premieres, where everything is so hyper and you don’t really get to hear what the true fans are really thinking or feeling. Our fans are the best.

Fast X is now playing in theaters.