Jharrel Jerome on Playing Wrestling Champion Anthony Robles in ‘Unstoppable’

Jharrel Jerome carries himself with a quiet confidence. He’s earned it, given that he’s won an Emmy, starred in an Oscar-winning movie, and worked with the likes of Ava DuVernay and Barry Jenkins. He’s also gracious and present in our conversation, especially when discussing his career.  

Jerome has always wanted to be an actor — the idea of being somebody else on-screen excited him. He also hopes to inspire and make a change, “to show people that a face like mine and a person like me could be in this industry — and really in this industry — not in a way of, like: “‘Oh, yeah, I’ve seen him in a few things…’”

The 27-year-old made his debut when he starred in Barry Jenkins’s Oscar-winning drama, Moonlight. He became a household name after playing Korey Wise in Ava DuVernay’s well-crafted Netflix miniseries, When They See Us, which earned him the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor. 

The New York-born actor seems to be drawn to complex, heavy material, with his first lead role being in Unstoppable, which premiered at TIFF and was produced by Artists Equity, the production company formed by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. It tells the inspiring true story of Anthony Robles, who was born with one leg but he didn’t let that stop him from defying the odds and pursuing his dreams. With the support of his mother (Jennifer Lopez), Anthony fights through adversity to earn a spot on the Arizona State Wrestling team on his quest to become an NCAA Champion. 

Jerome is the lifeline of the film — even holding his own in scenes with Lopez. He channels Robles’ unwavering spirit and resilience with conviction. It seems that his sense of conviction bleeds into his own personal life. He tells me that he is intentional with how he lives his life, so as to not let Hollywood change him.

“I’m very intentional with the things I do, the people I see and just as a man. I’m proud of that aspect of myself because — especially with my life and my world in Hollywood and the industry — it’s very easy to slip and kind of fall into an abyss and turn into somebody you’re really not,” he said. “But I’ve been around a little while now, and I’m still kinda me. I think it’s the roles and the directors and the projects I’ve worked on that have helped me stay there.”

There’s no doubt that playing Robles also left a mark on him — in how he approaches conversations and sets boundaries. He said, “It all comes from this idea of this militant mindset that you can have if you wanna have it.” 

Hours before he received his TIFF Tribute Performer Award, Jharrel Jerome sat down to talk Unstoppable, his career, and what was on his playlist for the role. 

When you found out you were going to take on this heavy task of playing Anthony, what were you most afraid of, what was the first thing that came to mind?

He’s just jacked, he’s huge. Just the physical strength. I wasn’t a huge gym buff growing up. I was kinda like the skinny kid everywhere and I was comfortable with that. I knew that I was gonna have to put endless hours into the gym and into the physical side of my life. It was funny because I was kinda torn about it. Half of me was like, ‘Yo, I’m so scared’ and the other half kept seeing the end goal, and then I’m like, ‘Listen, I’ll be in shape.’ I’ll have learned. And so it was definitely a role I wanted to take on regardless of how daunting I knew it was gonna be. Funny enough, it was even harder than I thought it was gonna be.

Is there anything you were able to achieve on this film that you are personally proud of?

Everything. The whole thing. Just being able to push past certain limits I never knew I had. Like, even in the gym, lifting up 200 pounds when I’m so tired. There are a lot of moments throughout the whole process where I kinda did a little smile to myself. Like, yeah, I didn’t know I could do that, but I did it. What’s so crazy is I keep talking about the prep schedule, the 4 to 5 months of day to day doing it with Anthony, all of that, and that led right into shooting. It wasn’t like I took a month off to relax because I learned everything. It was like, ‘Alright, now we’re shooting.’ We went right into, 13-14 hour days, 5 days a week. Like, I came out the other side. I’m just so proud of myself.

It’s rare to have the person you’re playing be with you on set everyday. What did that opportunity give you as an artist?

It informed a lot of my performance, luckily for me. First of all, as an actor, you’re very used to somebody who looks like you walking around on the set. But it’s very different for it to be somebody you’re actually playing. It was almost two sides of the coin. One side, the pressure. I was scared. And like I said, I could be in the gym for the next year and a half, 2 years, and I still would not be as big as this guy is. So it was a mental thing of, like, ‘It’s not about being as big as him. It’s about embodying who he is.’ But the other side of it was I got to just learn all his mannerisms, all his tics, the way he spoke, the way he moved is right in front of me. So it’s almost like cheating on a test. It’s like taking a test, and you have all the answers right there.

Anthony’s story is such an inspiring one, especially his perseverance and will power, despite the odds. How did channeling him and his determination and mindset influence you personally?

I mean, work ethic, drive, motivation. I’m still in the gym now. I wake up, and I’m like, ‘I don’t wanna go to the gym, but I’ll be in that gym.’ It’s not to say I was lazy before I started doing this, but I definitely saw work and drive and focus and commitment in a whole different light after observing this man. So if Anthony could do all the things he can do with the circumstances he’s been put under, I can get up and go to the gym. I can get up and work on myself. I can focus and achieve my goals and and plan out my week, plan out my day, do things that people in my generation don’t like to do. I’m kind of a different person.

Even the people around me, personally, in my life, have seen it and it’s been beautiful. My mother called me the other day. She’s like, ‘So when did you become a man? When did you grow up on me?’ And it’s not just the physical and how I look, it’s the mental. It’s how I’m approaching certain conversations, how I’m talking to certain people. I’m setting boundaries. I’m having conversations. It all comes from this idea of this militant mindset that you can have if you wanna have it.

In the film, Anthony’s coach asks him: Why do you wrestle? That was such a pivotal moment in the film. So let me ask you this, why do you act?

Oh, that’s a great question. I wish I could do a heartfelt monologue right now the way they wrote it. Hmm, why do I act? At first, I wanted to act because it was really fun being somebody who wasn’t me. Like, just stepping outside of myself and being somebody else. It’s almost like being a kid. Remember when we were kids and all we did was be somebody we’re not? Whether it was a superhero, whether it was the princess or the prince — it was always fun to play make believe, and so my passion for acting came from wanting to just make believe. Now it’s turned into my life and my career. Now, I wanna act to inspire and to make change and to show people that a face like mine and a person like me could be in this industry and really in this industry, not in a way of, like, ‘Oh, yeah, I’ve seen him in a few things, but, like, the next guy or something. Who knows?’ I just do it to inspire the people who are from where I’m from. 

Anthony envisions things. He had a post-it note that said, State Championship. Do you envision things — what would your post-it note say?

Oscar. I whispered it because you know… I’m nervous. But, nomination more than anything else. 

The roles you’ve inhabited like Korey Wise in When They See Us, Kevin in Moonlight, have all been complex and compelling, even this film with Anthony. How do these roles satisfy you as an artist?

Each role has informed some different part of me. So, playing Corey informed the same very similar things that Anthony’s informed, but that plight, that overcoming and not giving up on yourself. I don’t know what Kevin taught me. Kevin is the most complicated character I — still to this day — have played. But, no, all these characters have, as an actor and as a human, taught me how to approach things with gravitas and with intention. I’m very intentional. It’s not just on screen. It’s like in my life, I’m very intentional with the things I do, the people I see and just as a man, I’m sort of proud of that aspect of myself because especially with my life and my world in Hollywood and the industry, it’s very easy to slip and kind of fall into an abyss and turn into somebody you’re really not. But I’ve been around a little while now, and I’m still kinda me. I think it’s the roles and the directors and the projects I’ve worked on that have helped me stay there.

I’ve read that music is also very much something important to you and in the past you said, every single set you’ve been on, you made music throughout. We see Anthony on his iPod, so I was curious if you made a playlist to help you get into Anthony’s mindset?

I actually played through Anthony’s playlist. So Anthony’s favourite album is actually the Spider-Verse soundtrack, some great songs on there. So we would run those throughout the entire wrestling practice, either that or J. Cole. We both shared that in common. J. Cole is my favourite rapper. It’s his favourite rapper. So it became a thing of, like we just were riding in his car, bumping J. Cole, listening to the Spider Verse soundtrack.

Unstoppable is now streaming on Prime Video.

Feature image: Jharrel Jerome, by Todd Williamson / January Images.

The post Jharrel Jerome on Playing Wrestling Champion Anthony Robles in ‘Unstoppable’ appeared first on Sharp Magazine.