The LA Times reports Race, a film depicting the triumph of Jesse Owens, will start filming next week. Actor Stephan James will play the role of Owens, while Jason Sudeikis and Jeremy Irons will play Jesse Owen’s coach Larry Snyder and Olympic official Avery Brundage.
For some, the mystique and lore of what Jesse Owens represented to African-Americans after the 1936 Berlin Olympics is immeasurable. His feat took place in front of Adolf Hitler, a then murderous psychopath in the making. Owens’ victory was an affront to the belief that Aryan People were superior to all races. Owens disproved this idiotic idea winning four gold medals in the 100 meter, 200 meter, long jump, and 4X100 relay. Smashing the myth of Aryan and Nazi superiority, ESPN once named him the sixth greatest North American athletes of the twentieth century, ranking higher than any other track and field athlete.
“I’m excited we’ve assembled such an impressive cast to tell this extraordinary story,” director Stephen Hopkins said in a release from Focus Features. “Stephan James is an amazing discovery, a rare star in the making.”
