Jharrel Jerome is unstoppable…
The 25-year-old Afro-Dominican American actor, an Emmy winner and EP/star of the upcoming Prime Video series I’m a Virgo that just premiered at SXSW, has signed on to star in Unstoppable, the film starring Jennifer Lopez and directed by Billy Goldenberg.
The film follows the true story of Anthony Robles, a three-time All-American wrestler born with one leg who won a national championship at Arizona State.
Robles will reportedly be heavily involved in the project, which Amazon Studios is in talks to acquire.
The second big project from Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s Artists Equity and Amazon is coming together rather quickly before the April 5 opening of their first movie, Air, which is getting a theatrical release and debuted at SXSW on Saturday. Artists Equity is co-founded by RedBird Capital.
Robles was born without a right leg. At the age of 14, he tried wrestling for the first time, at a mere 90 pounds. His first year he went 5-8, but remained determined that he could be a champion in the sport one day. Robles is also an inspirational speaker.
In 2019 he broke the Guinness world record for most pull-ups in a minute with 62 reps.
Jerome won an Emmy for Outstanding Actor in a Limited Series for the Ava DuVernay Netflix series When They See Us. His other credits include the film Concrete Cowboy and the Stephen King series Mr. Mercedes. He’ll soon be seen co-starring in HBO Max’s Steven Soderbergh series Full Circle.
Jerome is an EP on the Boots Riley Amazon series I’m a Virgo. The darkly comedic, fantastical coming-of-age joyride center son Cootie (Jerome), a 13-foot-tall young Black man in Oakland, CA. Having grown up hidden away, passing time on a diet of comic books and TV shows, he escapes to experience the beauty and contradictions of the real world. He forms friendships, finds love, navigates awkward situations, and encounters his idol, a real-life superhero named The Hero, played by Walton Goggins. I’m A Virgo is a mythical odyssey that questions the purpose of the mythical odyssey.
