Exclusive: Stephan James talks Sports Drama ‘National Champions’
Currently playing in theaters is ‘National Champions,’ a drama surrounding the fair and equal treatment of college football players by those making billions of dollars off them.
Directed by Ric Roman Waugh from a script written by Adam Mervis, the cast includes Stephan James (If Beale Street Could Talk, Selma), Academy Award winner J. K. Simmons, Alexander Ludwig (“Vikings,” Lone Survivor), Lil Rel Howery, Tim Blake Nelson, Russell Wilson, Andrew Bachelor, Jeffrey Donovan, David Koechner, Emmy Award winner Kristin Chenoweth, with Timothy Olyphant, and Emmy Award winner Uzo Aduba
Three days before the college football national championship game, star quarterback LeMarcus James (Stephan James) and teammate Emmett Sunday (Alexander Ludwig) ignite a player’s strike declaring they won’t compete until all student-athletes are fairly compensated. With billions of dollars at risk and legacies on the line, the stakes could not be higher. Now, with only hours until kickoff, the head coach (J.K. Simmons) and various power brokers (Lil Rel Howery, Tim Blake Nelson, Andrew Bachelor, Jeffrey Donovan, David Koechner, Kristin Chenoweth, Timothy Olyphant, Uzo Aduba) must race against the clock to protect or destroy the prevailing collegiate athletics system.
For Stephan James, who’s best known for playing John Lewis in Ava DuVernay’s Selma, this is the second time he’s played a football player on screen and also the second time he’s working with Alexander Ludwig. They first teamed up on When the Game Stands Tall. James has also played an athlete in Across the Line as a hockey player and as famed track star and Olympian Jesse Owen in Race.
BlackFilmandTV.com’s Wilson Morales spoke with James about his role in National Champions and his thoughts on the pay structure for athletes.
