Jennifer Lopez Sports Drama ‘Unstoppable’ Gets Rousing, Tearful Toronto Premiere Reception

Jharrel Jerome won an Emmy five years ago for his lead performance in Netflix’s “When They See Us” – and the 26-year-old actor might have other gold statues in his future after Friday night’s ecstatic reception for his underdog sports drama “Unstoppable,” which held its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival.

The true story feature chronicles the life and career of Arizona wrestler Anthony Robles, who fought his way to a national championship despite being born with one leg. The movie, due for release in December from Amazon/MGM, marks the directorial debut of film editor William Goldenberg (“Argo”) and co-stars Jennifer Lopez as Robles’s mom Judy, Bobby Cannavale as Judy’s abusive husband and Don Cheadle as Robles’s coach.

All were in the audience at Toronto’s Roy Thompson Hall for the “Unstoppable” premiere screening ( Lopez wore a silver dress in front and back pieces, attached by black bows ), and the cast was joined by Robles himself, who received a prolonged standing ovation from the crowd as he waved from the balcony’s front row.

“The emotions are coming through in waves,” he said from the stage afterwards. “My biggest fear was having my story told to the world and not knowing how it would be told. For the people here to tell my story in such a way that I can be proud of, I just couldn’t be happier.”

The athlete, now a motivational speaker and coach, was touchingly introduced on stage by his mother, Judy, whose voice cracked as she spoke her son’s name to the audience.

And Judy Robles was brought on by Lopez, who told the crowd, “When I read the script, I felt like so many women, including myself, could relate to the struggles that she had gone through in her life.”

Lopez added, “Just talking to [Judy] I realized that we were the same person in a way, even though we were so different. At the core of who were were, at first we were moms. Beyond that, we had had similar struggles. It was my job to help Judy and Anthony feel safe that this was in our hands. Because it is one of the most beautiful, most inspiring stories I’ve ever seen on the screen.”

Jarrell spoke about the physical demands of the role: “It was like a Tour de France of prep,” he said, describing his five months of eight-hour days of weight lifting, wrestling and even voice training to exactly match Robles’s Southwestern vocal cadence.

Reactions on social media confirmed that “Unstoppable” enjoyed a very good night, with some users on X already placing bets on Toronto’s coveted People’s Choice Award . And some early awards buzz is already cropping up for Lopez, who was hotly tipped but snubbed for an Oscar nomination for 2019’s “Hustlers,” also a Toronto premiere.

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