"It's unbelievable,"  says Matthew Le Nevez, who plays the title role in Network Ten's two-part series Brock, which begins on October 9. "I know a few older actors who got into it. But you can imagine actors getting into it. But a racing car driver?"

Le Nevez is referring to a form of quackery involving crystals that Brock believed helped him overcome health problems.

"He was the all-partying, all-conquering rock star racing car driver who smoke and drank and ate unhealthy food and then he found his spirituality later in his life," he says.

Brock also championed the infamous Energy Polariser, a device containing crystals and magnets that was claimed to improve a car's performance by aligning its molecules. Le Nevez has a benign view of the controversy that caused Holden to sever its relationship with Brock in the 1980s.

"He listened to his heart and his heart told him this was real," he says. "It's really a story about this man's heart and soul and his dedication to his beliefs."

Brock's life provides rich fodder for television, and the two-parter hurtles along like one of his Holden Monaros as it charts his meteoric rise from young larrikin tearing up country roads to Australia's top racing driver, with nine Bathurst and nine Sandown victories.

The mini-series does not shy away from the speed humps in Brock's personal life – the marriage splits and affairs, financial struggles, tragic death in a car rally in 2006 and legal tussle over his will.

"I know there's a lot of controversy around Peter's second marriage and then also the last few years of his life," Le Nevez says.

The allegations of domestic violence levelled against Brock by second wife Michelle Downes, a former Miss Australia, are particularly thorny.

"I certainly am not one to judge anyone and Peter always denied it," Le Nevez says.

He adds: "We certainly show Michelle struggling with something, and then also Peter maybe being a little bit over-passionate in a way. We're very careful to respectfully tell all sides of the story without opening up old wounds or accusing anyone of anything they haven't been convicted of."

Director Geoff Bennett says Brock was a much-loved man whose flaws were forgiven by fans.

"He risked his life every time he raced, but he did it in a casual, relaxed way, as if he was born to race," he says. "He behaved like a rock star: he was charming, selfish, and opinionated. He was a flawed and troubled man, yet people forgave him for that."

Le Nevez says taking on the role of an iconic hero was daunting, especially given the sensitivities around aspects of Brock's life. Brock's long-term partner Bev, played by Ella Scott Lynch, criticised the production in 2015, suggesting it was likely to be "absolute bulls--t".

Le Nevez, who says he idolised Brock as a child, is mindful of how the family may react to his portrayal.

"It is I'm sure going to be very raw for them and at some points hard for them to see," he says. "Ultimately what I hope is that they can look beyond that and realise we're trying to keep the Brock name alive."

Le Nevez stars alongside Brendan Cowell as Brock's rival Allan Moffat, Natalie Bassingthwaighte as Julie Bamford, the woman he left Bev to be with, and Steve Bisley as driver and team manager Harry Firth.

The Los Angeles-based Le Nevez watched archival footage of Brock and spoke to many of his friends to prepare for the role.

"I had to lose a bit of a weight," he says. "I probably spent too much time in Mexican restaurants. Because he was such a healthy man. I think he was healthier at 60 than I was when I was 30."

Now 37, he  is no stranger to real-life roles, with performances as cricketer Dennis Lillee in Howzat! Kerry Packer's War and murderer Mathew Wales in The Society Murders. Brock cements him as one of Australia's leading actors, following recent performances in The Kettering Incident, Offspring and Love Child.

"Matt is a very open and generous actor who is not afraid of revealing himself," Bennett says. "He brought a deep sense of humanity to a very difficult character."

Bennett points to a scene with Scott Lynch in which he asks to touch her pregnant belly.

"When he does so, he is overcome with emotion – tears well up," Bennett says. "I wasn't expecting this and I don't think Ella or Matt was. It was a very beautiful moment and an indication of what a wonderful actor Matt is."

Tender moments aside, there are also plenty of fast cars, frenetic pit stops and photo finishes featuring, in some cases, the vehicles Brock drove.

"I don't mind driving fast, but I don't get driving fast in traffic," Le Nevez says. "It's ridiculous. You're just going to race up to the next red light."

Le Nevez, a father to two-year-old Levi, says his partner Michelle Smith was not concerned about the potential dangers of the role: "She's more worried about my motorbikes."

"She drives faster than I do," he adds. "She says I'm a grandpa."

WHAT

Brock

WHEN

Ten, Sunday and Monday,