The sports biopic, produced by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, stars Jharrel Jerome as real-life wrestler Anthony Robles, who was born with one leg
The extraordinary real-life story of wrestler Anthony Robles is getting the big-screen treatment it deserves.
Jharrel Jerome and Jennifer Lopez star as Anthony and his mother Judy Robles, respectively, in the sports biopic Unstoppable (in theaters Dec. 6). As the newly released trailer reveals, it's an inspiring tale of an Arizona-born athlete born with one leg fighting to be known as a champion.
"Why do you wrestle?" asks Anthony's coach Bobby Williams, played by Michael Peña, in the trailer.
"When people look at me the first thing they see is what's missing," replies Jerome's Anthony, who can be seen going toe to toe with his fellow wrestlers in and out of the ring. "If I win, having one leg won't be the most important thing about me."
Also a producer and consultant on the film is Robles, 36, who in 2011 -- spoiler alert! -- won a NCAA individual national championship in the 125-pound weight class. His 2012 memoir, Unstoppable: From Underdog to Undefeated: How I Became a Champion, was adapted for the screen by Eric Champnella, Alex Harris and John Hindman.
At the film's Sept. 6 Toronto International Film Festival premiere, the 2012 Medal of Courage recipient told PEOPLE about working with such established filmmakers. "The scariest part for me is that loss of control and having faith," he said. "But with this amazing group of individuals, we knew we could trust them and we knew that the integrity of the story, the message of it, and my family would be safe with this group."
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Jerome, 27, prepared for years to play the athlete accurately onscreen, and trained with him in the ring; Robles even serves as Jerome's stunt double for many of the wrestling scenes. "This is basically my first time where it's gone far beyond the character that I'm trying to become," revealed the When They See Us Emmy winner. "Anthony and I have built a friendship. I've gone to his home in Arizona. I've spent time with him in his backyard grilling with his family."
Related: Ben Affleck Spends Time with His Kids in L.A. as Jennifer Lopez Attends the Premiere of Their New Movie in Toronto
Lopez, 55, told PEOPLE in Toronto that portraying the "dysfunctional and unhealthy" relationship between her and Cannavale's married characters made filming Unstoppable "very cathartic," as she put it. "Women who are moms who get in relationships, and you struggle with them, and you find yourself in dynamics that are not healthy, but you care about the person, love the person... That's those complicated dynamics about life that I understand really well."
