Jharrel Jerome has never shied away from demanding roles. The actor rose to fame with the lead role in When They See Us, the story of the Central Park Five, now known as the Exonerated Five. Now he’s starring in Unstoppable, a biopic about Anthony Robles, a disabled NCAA champion.
Remezcla had the opportunity to speak with Jerome about his latest project, working with a superstar like Jennifer Lopez, and what it took to bring Anthony Robles’ Story — which is not just his story as much as it is the story of his family—to the big screen. We also spoke with Lopez, who plays Judy Robles, the mother of Anthony Robles.
“As an actor, this is a role that just calls to you because of the challenges and the work that’s required. I love roles that challenge me in more ways than one. I’ve been blessed to have roles that have challenged me emotionally. And I knew this one would be a physical one,” Jerome shared.
He went on to say, “But on the other side, just me as a human, I just remember thinking this would be a chance for me to change my life and learn something new, learn the gym, learn my physique, learn fitness, learn diet, learn a sport. And I thought that that would just shape me as I continue to grow. And I wasn’t wrong.”
The role came with a pretty intimidating co-star, Jennifer Lopez. For Jerome, that was “Incredible. I’m Dominican from the Bronx, so our backgrounds are very similar. And when we met, I was very nervous because obviously, I view her to such a capacity in my mind, as we all do. But that was immediately stripped down as soon as I met her. She really is focused, and she is truly an actor. So, it turned from J-Lo to Jen, my peer, and someone who is embodying my mother on a set.”
Working with someone who has as much experience as Jennifer Lopez also helped Jerome. “I learned a whole lot just seeing how she was able to shut the world off to focus and commit to this role.”
For Lopez, Robles’ story was important not just because it was a story of overcoming obstacles, but also because it was “a beautiful story about a family.” It is, of course, Anthony Robles’ story first and foremost, but it’s also in many ways, the story of “relationship with his mom and his family dynamic at home, and it was a Latino story,” things that Lopez found “to be so inspirational and so real, and so kind of gritty in a way, and I just was really honored to be asked to play her, and to be part of bringing Anthony’s story to the world.”
Lopez also stressed how great it was working with Jerome. “He’s a very talented, young actor, and we connected right away,” adding that “We understood the assignment. We knew what we had to do. We knew that Judy and Anthony had a very special relationship in real life and that we had to bring that to life on the screen, we had to connect, because, in a way, their story is the story, not just the story of Anthony.”
Unstoppable, starring Jharrel Jerome, is now streaming on Prime Video.
