The casting of Nathalie Kelley in the role of Samantha in the new Prime Video series, cast of Motorheads also includes Ryan Phillippe, Michael Cimino, and Uriah Shelton.

Motorheads has now ed Prime Video's impressive growing television catalog of epic thrillers, crime dramas, and historical series, and the show's combination of high school drama and motor vehicles shows that it will offer a unique plot and an ensemble of relatable characters for its viewers. The series has already proven popular with viewers, receiving a score of 71% on Rotten Tomatoes and a rating of 7.1 on IMdb. With its inclusion of Kelley in the cast, Motorheads has allowed her the perfect chance to follow up on her similar role in a divisive action movie from 2006.

Motorheads Finally Gives Nathalie Kelley Another Street Racing Role After The Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift

Nathalie Kelley Played Neela In Tokyo Drift

In Motorheads, Nathalie Kelley plays the role of Samantha, a former ER nurse who moves from New York City with her two teenage children, twins Zac and Caitlyn, to her hometown of Ironwood. The family has been struggling to cope with the disappearance of Christian Maddox, Samantha's husband and the father of her children, who vanished 17 years prior to their move to Ironwood. Throughout Motorheads, as they begin to settle into their new home and the twins become involved in street racing, Samantha learns more about her husband's past and questions the circumstances that led to his mysterious disappearance.

Kelley's new role as Samantha in Motorheads marks her first time working in a street racing role since her appearance in the action movie, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. The third installment in the Fast & Furious franchise, Tokyo Drift, depicts street racing enthusiast Sean Boswell being forced to move to Tokyo with his estranged father after getting into trouble during a race with his classmate. Boswell soon finds himself tangled with Takashi (Brian Tee), known in Tokyo as "Drift King", who is an expert drift racer. Kelley portrays Neela, Takashi's girlfriend, who secretly wishes to end their relationship.

Throughout the movie, Neela acts as a confidante and friend to Sean as he adjusts to Tokyo and, gradually, the two fall in love, which causes problems with Takashi. Upon release, Tokyo Drift received a mixed response from critics and viewers due to its storyline, characters, and performances from the cast and is the rewatchable Fast & Furious movie.

Why Nathalie Kelley's Neela Never Returned In The Fast & Furious Franchise

The Franchise Took A Different Turn After Tokyo Drift

Although Nathalie Kelley's character, Neela, played a critical part in the story of Tokyo Drift, she has not returned in any of the Fast & Furious sequels; the character's brief appearance in Furious 7 was used from archival footage. After the critical failure of Tokyo Drift, the Neela became one of several forgotten Fast & Furious characters from throughout the series.

In the years following her appearance in Tokyo Drift, Kelley has focused her attention on other projects as seen through her work in TV shows, including The Vampire Diaries (2016-2017) and Dynasty (2017-2018). It is possible that Neela could return in the Fast X: Part 2, the final installment in the main franchise. While details about Fast X: Part 2 haven't yet been confirmed, Nathalie Kelley's role in Motorheads gives her the perfect follow-up to her character's arc in Tokyo Drift.