Catching Up with Kid Cudi

Flying High
After hanging out in helicopters as the daredevil Benny in Need for Speed, Mescudi might try for his own pilot’s license. “I’m over any fear I had during filming,” he says. “I feel comfortable with it.”

Dressing Down
The perennially stylish star ditched his designer gear as blue-collar Benny but did accessorize his character’s style with sunglasses, a fitted baseball cap, and a chain necklace. “I had to give [Benny] some swag,” says Mescudi.

His Bad BFF
Bromance alert! “I fell in love with him right away,” Mescudi says of costar Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), who plays Need for Speed‘s star racer Tobey Marshall. “You connect with people when you see a bit of yourself in them.”

Up Next
The 30-year-old will costar in the upcoming Entourage movie as Ari Gold’s assistant — a job even more high-risk than flying choppers: “Ari Gold don’t play.”