Jesse Owens made world and Olympic history in 1936 when he showed Hitler and the Nazis that a black man could beat his Aryan race. But the 21-year-old Canadian actor chosen to portray Owens in a new movie had to look him up.
James, who was shooting “Selma” at the time, said he trained with an assistant men’s track coach at Georgia Tech.
“Growing up, I was always into sports — basketball and volleyball — but I wasn’t really a runner,” James said. “So I had to learn how to run and how to run fast, but also how to run like Jesse Owens, because he had a very particular style.”
The Canadian star said it helped that one of Owens’ daughters and his granddaughters were around during the filming.
The Owens movie, set for a February 2016 release, is written by Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse and directed by Stephan Hopkins.
“Race” will follow Owens from Alabama to Germany as he overcame prejudice and inspired millions around the world.