The Twisted Metal video game franchise is known for its hardcore gameplay and a legacy steeped in lunacy. The demolition derby series has built a lasting reputation over the years thanks to its outrageous backstories, crazed characters, unhinged brutality, and, most importantly, the violent chaos of its vehicular combat.

The end of Season 1 of the madcap series saw John Doe (Anthony Mackie) and Quiet (Stephanie Beatriz) part ways after reaching New San Francisco, only for John to discover that he has been tasked with driving in a tournament called “Twisted Metal,” run by a shadowy figure named Calypso (Anthony Carrigan). The revelation brings viewers directly into the game they know and love, and from there, they are slowly introduced to the players who will compete. This sets the stage for the introduction of iconic characters from the game, as well as new additions designed to humanize the deadly competition.

Bringing the fundamental elements of the Twisted Metal franchise to the small screen in the Peacock series was no easy feat, particularly when it came to capturing the derby antics of its many bizarre motorists. Bringing the characters from the game to life was one challenge, but making them believable drivers of their jury-rigged four-wheeled monstrosities for Calypso’s life-or-death competition was another.

TV Insider spoke with the actresses whose job was to turn game characters into flesh-and-blood competitors with the skills to pay the bills, or at least win the ultimate prize in the Twisted Metal competition: a single wish of their deepest heart’s desire from Calypso.

On hand to discuss their transformation from screen sirens to speedsters were Tiana Okoye (Dollface), Patty Guggenheim (Raven), Saylor Bell  (Mayhem), and Lisa Gilroy (Vermin). Whether embodying classic characters or creating entirely new personas, each of these women brought a formidable, fierce, and fearless energy to their roles every time they got behind the wheel of their cars.

Thanks to the magic of special effects, it’s hard to tell what was handled by a stunt driver, what was green-screened, and what they were able to do on screen themselves. How much of the driving did they actually get to do?

“Some of the shots when we’re in the car and it’s close up, those are green screened. But there’s a pod car where you’re in the driver’s seat, but there’s like a literal NASCAR driver on top of the car, controlling it,” explained Guggenheim. “Those felt like real stunts, even though I wasn’t pedal to the metal on the car.”

“He was going so fast towards a wall, and then would just turn. And I was just like, ‘ARRGHHH!’” she continued. “That’s where I was sweating. It was so thrilling, but then you have to make sure your face wasn’t like, stuck in surprise. That was fun.”

“The pod cars were so fun,” recalled Okoye. “I remember thinking that same thing, just being like, ‘Well, I’m gonna crash the car, but I won’t. because somebody else is driving, but I can pretend like I’m doing it.’”

“Jesus H. Christ! And you did!” exclaimed Guggenheim over her costar’s doubts.

“I really wanted to do more!” explained Okoye. “I learned all of the choreography. I practiced it. I loved it. I loved those sessions. I have a dance background, and so I feel comfortable in that movement. And this was the first job where I’ve really gotten to do stunts and play in that area. So I really, really enjoyed that.”

“I did not do all of my stunts,” Okoye further explained. “Absolutely not! I cannot take credit for all of those. We had incredible stunt drivers and stunt performers who were different from the drivers, sometimes, that did our actual choreography. If it was something that we either didn’t have time for or maybe was a little too dangerous, it was nice to have that support and group of people who are trained in it and could handle the roles, and knew exactly where to place their bodies and make it look believable, and they did such a good job.”

Sadly, not everyone got the chance to experience a pod car.

“So I got to pull my exterminator van out of a parking spot and drive out of frame, which was about, I’m gonna say, five feet,” laughed Gilroy. “And let me tell you, it was slow as molasses!”

Bell, who has a background in MMA, shared that she got a full-stunt experience while on set.

“It was actually so cool and comforting being around everyone who was helping us with stunts. I’ve been a very physically active person my whole life. I’m a black belt, and I have a lot of physical activities that I do all the time,” said Bell. “And so when I was going over all the stunts, and I was doing all the fighting and the kicking, I felt like I really, actually, genuinely knew what I was doing. I was like, ‘This is my black belt test, or whatever, X or Y or Z.’”

“And it was really amazing, because then I had all these really cool, awesome, phenomenal stunt people being like, ‘Wait. Have you done this before?’ And then when I was like, ‘I have a background in martial arts and whatnot,” she recalled.

“After they had learned that, after we had had our first session, we choreographed the entire thing, and they were like, ‘We just think it needs to be harder, because you can do it,” shared Bell.

“Like, thanks guys for believing in me! It felt really cool. I ended up doing my stunts, except for the sidekick. But that was because the man was actually going all out, and I was not gonna be responsible for what happened to him!”

“It felt freeing. It felt like sparring again. It was just really cool. I loved doing all the stunts. It was my favorite part,” said Bell.

Twisted Metal, Season 2 Premiere, Thursday, July 31, Peacock