A Brit will be taking on the role as one of America’s greatest Olympians for new biopic RACE, it was announced.
John Boyega, who has starred in films such as ATTACK THE BLOCK, HALF OF A YELLOW SUN and more recently IMPERIAL DREAMS, will take on the role of Jesse Owens, a son of an Albama sharecropper, who completely destroyed Adolf Hitler’s hope of Aryan supremacy at the 1936 Berlin Olympics when he went on to win four gold medals in track and field athletics.
THE LIFE AND DEATH OF PETER SELLERS director Stephen Hopkins will be shooting the Anna Waterhouse and Joe Shrapnel penned script. Hopkins had this to say about the news:
“John Boyega is definitely one of the most exciting young actors working today and I am thrilled to have him on board to play the iconic role of Jesse Owens in RACE”
The movie will be shot on location at the stadium where Owens won his medals. It is being pushed for a Spring 2015 release (but we kind of want it out already!)
Source: Variety
