‘Unstoppable’ Star Jharrel Jerome Was “Very Impressed” By Jennifer Lopez’s Acting Method: “It Reminded Me Of Theater School”

Thirty-five years ago, Anthony Robles was born with only one leg. Fourteen years ago, he became an NCAA Division I wrestling champion for Arizona State. Today, his life story is being told in Amazon’s Unstoppable, a new sports biopic starring Emmy-winning actor Jharrel Jerome as Robles, and international superstar Jennifer Lopez as Robles’s mother, Judy.

“It’s still crazy to say it,” Robles said with a laugh, in a recent interview with Decider. “I couldn’t think of anybody better to play her.”

Unstoppable—which released in select theaters in December and began streaming on Prime today—was adapted from Robles’s 2012 memoir of the same name. Lopez’s ex-husband, Ben Affleck, produced the film via Artists Equity, and Affleck’s longtime film editor, William Goldenberg, was brought in to direct. The Chi star Jason Mitchell was originally cast as the lead, but was replaced by Jerome after Mitchell faced allegations of sexual misconduct in 2019.

The role was an extraordinarily physical one for Jerome, who won an Emmy for his performance in Ava Duvernay’s When They See Us. Not only did he learn to zoom around on crutches, he also had to learn to wrestle using only one leg. As Jerome told Decider, “It was just about bending and contorting my body in ways that I never thought I would.”

Indeed, in some of the wrestling scenes in the film, Robles played himself on the mat—though he’s quick to credit Jerome’s skilled imitation. “You can’t tell who is who out there,” Robles said, “because of how well he picked up my style.”

Decider spoke to both Jerome and Robles about making the film, working with Lopez, and wrestling for the camera.

DECIDER: I’ll start with the most important question. Anthony, what’s it like having Jennifer Lopez play your mom? 

ANTHONY ROBLES: [Laughs.] It’s still crazy to say it and think about! But for my mom, I couldn’t think of anybody better to play her, because of how she was in my life. She was my hero. She still is my hero. She was someone that inspired me every single day. This film does a great job of capturing her story, what she wrestled, and what she overcame in her life. So, Jennifer—I couldn’t think of anybody more perfect to play my mom. I’m so proud that my mom’s story is going to be shared with the world now. 

Jharrel, was there anything that surprised you about working with Jennifer, especially doing these very emotional scenes that the two of you had together? 

JHARREL JEROME: I don’t know about surprises, because I haven’t worked with her before, so I didn’t really know what to expect. But I was very impressed. When I met her, our first rehearsal, she brought her script out and every single line, she had it annotated. She had notes next to it with questions. It reminded me of theater school—doing the nitty-gritty work, the backend work. She is down to do that. She met Judy [Robles, Anthony’s mother], and she knew how important it was. She brought that sort of edge to it.

I’m from the Bronx, so I know her as J.Lo. I’ve idolized her my whole life. It was impressive to see her be able to strip that all down, and carry herself as an actress on set—as a thespian, and not as a megastar. That was really cool. 

Anthony, I read that it really was you on the mat during some of these wrestling scenes. What was that like, wrestling on camera for a movie scene?

AR: It was an amazing experience for me, but it was definitely different. Just wrestling as a competitor, as an athlete, I’m going out there and trying to dominate the situation. I’m trying to force something on somebody else. But what we were able to develop with this film, with the choreography—we called it a violent dance. We were working together, but we were bringing that same 100 percent intensity that I would on a wrestling mat as if I was competing. For Jharrel to match that level of intensity—but also just really dial down on the technical side of how I wrestle on the wrestling mat—it allowed me to go out there and show everything that I could do freely. I love just seeing the film now, because you can’t tell who is who out there. I can’t see it, because of how well he picked up my style and how well he picked up that technique. But to learn that side of things, to experience the choreography side, was definitely a special experience for me. 

Jharrel, what did that kind of training look like for you? Not just learn how to wrestle, but to do this very specific type of wrestling that we see Anthony do? 

JJ: It was just about bending and contorting my body in ways that I never thought I would. But having Anthony there was the best. I mean, I got the best coach right here, the best mentor right here. All the information I needed to approach him authentically was there in front of me. It was really a couple of pieces outside the wrestling for me—including getting in the gym and lifting weights, and then getting on the crutches and being in control and nimble on them like he is. It was almost like a puzzle piece to get the physical side of it, before the emotional part. 

Was your leg restrained in any way, especially for these scenes when you’re on the crutches?

JJ: Yeah, my leg was wrapped in a green stocking, so you could erase it. But I also hiked it back. It wasn’t wrapped up or anything—I just lifted it back and held it back. When I was wrestling, it was almost like a tail—I just pretended that my leg was dead, and I just had it behind me, following me everywhere I was going. 

Anthony, what would you say the biggest difference between the real story of your life and what people are going to see in this movie?

AR: The really special thing about this film is that they’ve really got so many things correct. They really got so many things that were authentic about my story, about my family’s story, that I’m just so proud of what we see now. From the way my siblings acted—their attitudes, their sense of humor; to my coaches and the way they acted, to the way they are on the mat—all of those little things. The relationship with my mom, that inspiration, that strength—everything was captured. Those big, those huge moments in my life, it’s really neat to see on the screen now. But I believe that with this film, I couldn’t ask for more authentic, than what they did. 

Jharrel, I was excited to hear your voice in the last Spider-Verse movie. I hear you’re in the next one, too. Are you in production on that right now? 

JJ: No, I wish. We haven’t started up yet. A lot of things being figured out, but good things. 

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