‘Unstoppable’ Star Jharrel Jerome And Real-Life Subject Anthony Robles On What It Means To Embody The Film’s Title

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What does it mean to defy all odds? Anthony Robles had no other choice, so he never gave up on the one thing that always made him feel unstoppable.

Robles’ story is displayed on film as Prime Video‘s Unstoppable follows his path to winning the 2011 national championship while competing on the Arizona State University wrestling team. Robles, who was born with one leg, has never allowed life’s circumstances to hold him back, which Jharrel Jerome, who portrays him in the film, said sets him apart from the rest.

Jharrel Jerome says ‘option of failure’ doesn’t exist with Anthony Robles

“With Anthony, the option of failure doesn’t even exist,” Jerome told Blavity’s Shadow and Act during a set visit to ASU. “That’s not even in his brain anymore; that’s what unstoppable is. It’s not when you’re pushing through, and then you doubt, and you push through, and you doubt. It’s when you push through, and the doubt doesn’t even exist because all you know is to push through and all you know is to get through. And so I can apply that in all aspects of my life, you know? I be tired, but what am I complaining about, you know? And that is something important, especially in my generation, to learn is just not complaining so much and taking things as they come. And that’s what Anthony did his entire life since he was born. And, so, I learned from that, and I want to take that, you know, as I grow.”

Don Cheadle, who portrays Robles’ former ASU coach, Sean Charles, also discussed the intentionality behind defining real character, not just someone written into the story.

“The first thing that we have to do is we get the Bible, which is our script, and, you know, we have to true to that, and it’s not always exactly like the characters,” Cheadle began. “You have to find the place where those things meet and how to make them align. But I think that we’re both very fortunate that we got to meet the people and spend time with the people that we’re portraying. A big degree for Jharrel, which Anthony and he were just simpatico the whole time. But getting to meet Sean Charles, getting to meet his family, getting to talk to him, getting to talk to his friends, getting to talk to coaches that he worked with, other wrestlers that wrestled for him just gave me a lot of information and helped me round out the character.”

Judy Robles on vulnerability

Unstoppable also stars Jennifer Lopez as Roble’s mother, Judy Robles.

For the real Judy Robles, displaying that form of vulnerability for others to digest was not for the faint of heart. Still, she said taking a lesson on impact from her son helped her with having to relive some traumatic moments to tell their story on the big screen.

“I didn’t realize when, you know, Anthony was first talking about it, and I didn’t realize just the impact that it would have, and the necessity to tell the full story, and then having to, you know, talk to different people in different times, and then share with Jennifer everything that we went through,” Judy explained. “Being vulnerable was something that I didn’t necessarily want to do, but then again, I wanted to do it because I knew that it needed to show who we really are, and I knew it needed to be done authentically. And Anthony is very respectful, and I think that if I would have pulled back, he would have allowed me to, which would have made the story very different.”

“For me, to impact lives like we want it to, I had to be vulnerable,” she continued. “There was no preparation; there was just tears on set, and there was tears knowing that was happening, but I’m grateful for it because I think it helped. It’s helping me heal from a lot of it.”

What does it mean to adopt an unstoppable mindset?

Being vulnerable was equally challenging for Anthony, but he hopes those watching will be encouraged to overcome any challenges that attempt to hold them back from the life they desire.

“I think we all wrestle with a different challenge in life and different opponents, and I hope that they see that through this film, it’s not about what you have to wrestle, you know,” he said. “I think we all just need to evaluate, take a second as you’re going through something when you feel like you’re about to just give up and quit. Just take a second. Remember to count your blessings. Count your opportunities in your life and the things you’re fortunate to have. And what are your strengths?”

Anthony added, “What can you utilize to your advantage right now in the situation that you’re dealing with to overcome it? And if you can do that, it’s just training your mind. Unstoppable — it’s a mentality that you learn throughout your life, every single day, and the more you do it, the more you fight, the stronger you get. That’s what I think the viewers are going to take away; it’s that unstoppable mentality and saying, ‘You know what? I can be unstoppable, too, but I just got to take it one day at a time.'”

Unstoppable is now streaming on Prime Video.

Watch the full interview below:

The post ‘Unstoppable’ Star Jharrel Jerome And Real-Life Subject Anthony Robles On What It Means To Embody The Film’s Title appeared first on Blavity.