Jason Sudeikis and Jeremy Irons Join the Cast of ‘Race’

Jason Sudeikis Joins Race
Jason Sudeikis (Photo © Richard Chavez)

Jason Sudeikis (We’re the Millers) and Oscar winner Jeremy Irons (Reversal of Fortune) have joined the cast of the dramatic biopic Race based on Jesse Owens’ inspirational life story. Stephan James is playing Owens, and Stephen Hopkins (House of Lies) is set to direct from a script by Anna Waterhouse and Joe Shrapnel.

Focus Features has just picked up the U.S. distribution rights, and filming will begin on July 24th in Montreal. Shooting will also take place in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, the real location where Owens won four Olympic gold medals.

Sudeikis will play Larry Snyder, Owens’ “obsessive” coach and mentor. Irons is on board to play Avery Brundage, the American Olympic committee head who campaigned to have the Olympics take place in Berlin.

“We are proud to be the U.S. distributor of the inspirational story of Jesse Owens – a sports hero who exemplified perseverance, courage, and grace, and whose story will resonate with audiences of all generations,” said Focus Features CEO Peter Schlessel.

“I’m excited we’ve assembled such an impressive cast to tell this extraordinary story. Stephen James is an amazing discovery, a rare star-in-the-making, who has the charisma and talent to embody the incredible spirit of Jesse Owens,” added producer Stephen Hopkins. “We are also excited to have Jason Sudeikis, an actor of extraordinary talent, in his first big-screen dramatic role. Together they will recreate the chemistry and life-long friendship of Jesse Owens and his young, maverick coach Larry Snyder – who challenged not only the Olympic committee but the Nazis themselves. We’re also lucky enough to have Jeremy Irons, playing the controversial head of the Olympic committee, Avery Brundage.”

According to Focus Features, Race is being made with the support of Owens’ family.

The Plot:

Race is based on the incredible true story of Jesse Owens, the legendary athletic superstar whose quest to become the greatest track and field athlete in history thrusts him onto the world stage of the 1936 Olympics, where he faces off against Adolf Hitler’s vision of Aryan supremacy. Race is an enthralling film about courage, determination, tolerance, and friendship, and an inspiring drama about one man’s fight to become an Olympic legend.