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Reasons & Remarks – How He’s Made

One Champion, Many Stories: The Journey of ‘Unstoppable’

For more than 16 years, Academy Award-winning actor Ben Affleck has been a Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) supporter.

In 2008, Ben competed in a poker tournament hosted by PVA and since then, he’s been quite generous in helping PVA carry out its mission through countless fund-raising campaigns. I’ve lost count of how many times he’s appeared in PVA public service announcements, and he’s even hosted a fundraiser for PVA at Boston’s Fenway Park, where he premiered his film, The Town, in 2010.

As a way to thank Ben, PVA honored him with its Humanitarian Award in 2013. During his acceptance speech, Ben recounted his relationship with PVA and said, “I feel there is no better, nobler and more important cause and organization to align myself with.”

Because of Ben’s long history with PVA, he invited PN to a screening of his latest production called Unstoppable. The film is based on the true story of Anthony Robles, who was born with one leg and went on to star in wrestling at Arizona State University (ASU) and win the NCAA Division I title at 125 pounds in 2011.

PN editor-in-chief Al Kovach Jr., (right) interviews Anthony Robles (left) and his mother Judy ahead of the release of “Unstoppable.” (Photo courtesy PVA).

Film production began in May 2023, but due to the strikes of two major unions in Hollywood, it wasn’t completed until Jan. 14, 2024. With that said, I guess the unstoppable isn’t reserved just for Anthony, but could also be used to describe the crew.

Nevertheless, a screening took place on the ASU campus in Tempe, Ariz. Not to worry — no reason to issue a spoiler alert here. Most of the folks in the packed theater already knew Anthony’s story, thanks to lots of media attention from winning his NCAA title and his 2012 book Unstoppable: From Underdog to Undefeated: How I Became a Champion. Most of us had an idea of what to expect as far as the ending goes.

With a story line similar to movie icon Rocky Balboa, Unstoppable tracks Anthony’s challenges that moviegoers assume are unsurmountable both at home and on the wrestling mat, but his story demonstrates we should never make assumptions about people who appear to have a disability.

Still, the audience was on its feet and cheering by the time the credits began
rolling over vintage photographs of Anthony growing up. While it was obvious his fans loved seeing their hero on the silver screen, I really enjoyed it for other reasons. Simply put, Ben, his good friend and business partner Matt Damon and their team at Artists Equity went to great lengths to make this film authentic, including addressing the many nuances of disability while avoiding the common stereotypes that plague movies about folks like us.

Following the screening, Ben offered the opportunity to interview Anthony, Anthony’s mother, Judy, as well as two of the actors, Jharrel Jerome, who portrayed Anthony, and Don Cheadle who portrayed Anthony’s ASU wrestling coach, Shawn Charles.

I’ll simply say Judy is a heroine in her own right. Her efforts to protect Anthony in a challenging home environment steeped in obstacles and trauma, yet allowing him to pursue his endeavors and learn life’s lessons on his own, should be commended.

In our conversation, Judy said, “It was heartbreaking to know my son would be treated differently due the fact he was born with one leg instead of two. I could hear what people were saying about him when in public, and I knew the kids would be mean in school.”

However, Judy went on to say she always wanted Anthony to know he was loved and there was nothing wrong with him. Judy also suggested that if she were to tell Anthony to play it safe and avoid trying something new, she wouldn’t be helping him.

Honestly, if I had any criticism it would be that I wish the film spent more time on Judy’s story as a parent and caregiver, but there just wasn’t enough time in the 2-hour-and-3-minute-long movie.

While interviewing Anthony, he picked up where his mom left off. As a child born with a disability, his attempts to fit in among his peers were different from most of us who acquired our disabilities later in life. While in school, trying to look “normal” by wearing a prosthetic leg wasn’t an option, and he was unaware of any adaptive sports programs available to him. However, all that changed when he was introduced to wrestling.

Anthony said, “When out here on the wrestling mat, it’s just you and your opponent. So, there is nowhere to hide. At first, I just wanted to blend in and be like everybody else, but I realized that wasn’t possible. People will always look at me differently no matter what, so I wanted to control the narrative. I wanted them to focus on what I did have instead of what I didn’t have. Wrestling allowed that to happen. Wrestling helped me develop that confidence to be comfortable with who I was and how I was made.”

As you can probably imagine, any actor portraying a young man like Anthony would be a huge risk. If his performance didn’t come across as authentic to the audience, it wouldn’t bode well for the up-and-coming performer. But Jharrel wanted this role due to its challenges.

First, he had to learn how to move like Anthony, study how he used his crutches and learn a thing or two about wrestling. Then came time to study Anthony’s vulnerabilities and emotions. Jharrel says he invested a lot of time with Anthony as a means to be authentic. He spent three hours a day, five days a week for eight months on the wrestling mat with Anthony and his coach.

“People think I know how to wrestle now, but no, not really,” Jharrel said in the interview. “It was the confidence that wrestlers have; that’s what I learned.”

Jharrel went on to say he didn’t just 
want to mimic Anthony’s physicality. He was also seeking Anthony’s confidence, strength and resilience.
When I asked Don how he prepared for his role as Anthony’s coach, he said it started with a good script. But he also consulted with Shawn to learn about his and Anthony’s relationship, as well as some of the nuances of Anthony’s wrestling style.

Lastly, I asked Don and Jharrel about able-bodied actors playing the roles of people with disabilities. They understood the concerns and agreed it should be on a case-by-case basis. Don said filmmakers want someone who can appear to be disabled, but also be great at telling the story. But Don also said that sometimes a person with a disability wants the most qualified person to tell their story in the most authentic way.

Unfortunately, films of this so-called “disability genre” can’t escape the disability critics. That’s to say, even though Anthony is a producer of the film and it’s based on his book, I’m sure there will be critics saying the film falls short on authenticity because Jharrel has two legs. Those critics might be surprised to learn that despite Jharrel’s convincing performance, the director needed a wrestler with one leg who could mimic Anthony’s movements on the mat. None could be found, so Anthony became Jharrel’s stunt double in the wrestling scenes ­­— now that’s authentic!

So far, Unstoppable is doing well with critics and moviegoers. As of mid-December, it had received a rating of 79% on Rotten Tomatoes, 6.6 out of 10 on IMDb, and 89% of Google users liked it. Even though it was just released, it’s off to a good start. Looks like Ben’s latest project appears to be unstoppable.

If you can’t make it to the theater, throw some popcorn in the microwave, catch Unstoppable on Amazon Prime Video and let me know what you think at al@pvamag.com.

The film has received positive reviews:

  • 79% on Rotten Tomatoes
  • 6.6/10 on IMDb
  • 89% Google users approval

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