British-Indian actress Simone Ashley, who has featured in Sex Education and Bridgerton, was supposed to break through in Hollywood with the new sports drama F1, featuring Brad Pitt. She was cast in a major supporting role, which was announced with great fanfare last year. But fans were taken aback when she was absent in the teaser and trailer that came out recently. It was now confirmed that her part has been cut from the final version.
Simone’s Hollywood Debut That Never Was
Simone’s work on F1 was originally revealed by Variety last July 2024, after she was spotted on set at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone Circuit. While the details of her role were never revealed, the film project was considered a huge milestone in breaking into international cinema.
She discussed her role in the film briefly with Elle in an interview given in May, explaining, “I have a very small part, but I’m thankful to be in that movie. I did a lot of Grand Prix. I don’t think I’ll ever do anything like that again.”
Director Joseph Kosinski, in an interview with People, validated that Ashley’s scenes were omitted from the film during editing. Describing the reason, he added, “It happens on every movie, where you shoot more than you can use. There were two or three storylines that did not make it to the final cut.”
In spite of the chop, Kosinski had nothing but praise for Simone’s skills and said he would love to work with her again. “But Simone, she’s a phenomenal talent, phenomenal actress, phenomenal singer, and I would love to work with her again,” he explained.
As of yet, Simone Ashley has made no public comment about the axing of her part. F1 hits cinemas on June 27.
About Simone Ashley
Born as Simone Ashwini Pillai in Surrey to Tamil immigrant families, the actress took the stage name Simone Ashley during her adolescence. She started her acting career in 2016 with Wolfblood, a TV show, and then went on to feature in movies such as Boogie Man (2018). Her success came with Netflix hits Sex Education and Bridgerton, where she became widely popular. In 2023, she played one of Ariel’s sisters in Disney live-action The Little Mermaid, her highest-profile film role to date.
