Hollywood A-listers Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are joining forces with Amazon to produce a film based on the life of former Arizona State University wrestler Anthony Robles.
The upcoming film will feature Emmy winner Jharrel Jerome as Robles, and Jennifer Lopez, who is married to Affleck, is also set to star in the movie.
Robles was born with one leg but overcame the odds to become a successful wrestler. He won the Outstanding Wrestler Award at the 2011 NCAA tournament, was named a three-time NCAA All-American, and won the Best Male Athlete with a Disability at the 2011 ESPYS, as well as the Jimmy “V” award for perseverance. Robles is also known for setting a record for consecutive pull-ups, completing 62 in a row in 2019.
In an interview with CBS Sunday Morning, Affleck revealed that his new production company, Artists Equity, is teaming up with Amazon to bring Robles’ inspiring story to life. “We’re just getting rolling on working again with Amazon, to do the story of a wrestler named Anthony Robles, who was born with one leg and won a national championship for Arizona State,” Affleck said.
Robles, who currently serves as the head wrestling coach at his alma mater, Mesa High School, has yet to comment on the film.
However, he has made a career of giving motivational speeches and spoke to The Arizona Republic earlier this month about his first season as head coach for Mesa High School’s boys wrestling program.
“I’m just trying to take a successful program and make it even that much more successful,” he said at the time. “It’s a big shoe to fill but I’m ready for it, I’m excited. My goal is to make this a top-five program in the state and eventually we’d like to be a team state champ.”
The film is based on Robles’ 2012 autobiography, Unstoppable: From Underdog to Undefeated: How I Became a Champion. Despite being in the works for at least the past four years, production details for the film have yet to be announced.
Affleck has owned a fraction of the UFC as far back as 2016. He reportedly put in around $5 million during the first stage of WME’s acquisition of UFC for 4 billion.
“I am now part of a group of investors that includes Ben Affleck, Tom Brady, Mark Wahlberg, Adam Levine, Cam Newton, LL Cool J, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Sylvester Stallone, just to name a very few.” – Conor O’Brian said at the time.