'My All American' Film Honors Legendary Freddie Steinmark and His Faith
In an intimate interview with the cast members of the upcoming film "My All American," The Christian Post spoke to actors Aaron Eckhart, Finn Wittrock, Sarah Bolger, and director Angelo Pizzo about honoring American college football player Freddie Steinmark's legacy and remarkable character through the upcoming release.
From the writer of "Rudy" and "Hoosiers" comes "My All American," the inspirational real-life account of University of Texas football player Freddie Steinmark, whose life was cut short by cancer but his legacy lives on until this day.
Official Synopsis: What Freddie Steinmark wants most in the world is to play football. Deemed too small by the usual athletic standards, his father trains him hard, and Freddie brings a fight to the game that ultimately gets him noticed - by none other than legendary University of Texas coach Darrell Royal. Awarded a scholarship and a chance to play for the Longhorns, Freddie sets off to Austin determined to make the team. Alongside his old teammate Bobby Mitchell and new pal James Street they rise to the occasion, giving the Longhorns a real chance to turn the team around. But just when they're reveling in the success of the season, Freddie suffers an injury that leads him to a shocking diagnosis and the biggest challenge he will ever face.
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Finn Wittrock ("All My Children," "Unbroken") plays Freddie Steinmark in the upcoming film and he maintains that the movie has great values for this day and age.
"I think he kinda harkens back to an older time, a simpler time. Those guys were Southern boys in the '60s, they were kind of raised to be gentleman, there is a kind of etiquette to them that maybe has gone away a little bit," Wittrock told CP.
He added, "I think it's very refreshing in a world that can be so cynical to have someone that is so purely optimistic and idealistic but not in a totally innocent way. He was a fighter, he was competitive, and his faith was something that he quietly ingrained in himself."
The real-life Steinmark was a very committed Christian who attended church every day and believed in the power of prayer, but according to those around him, he never pushed his faith on anyone. The actor who plays Steinmark spoke about his character's core values more than anything. Wittrock upheld that people who knew the former Longhorn football player called him the "best person" they had ever known.
On playing the inspirational character, Wittrock noted that it was "a very healthy thing" for him to do "mentally and spiritually."
"I consider myself a spiritual person. I'm not necessarily a religious person in terms of going to church, but I did find his faith as something internal. An inner compass that kind of led him in the direction that he went," Wittrock shared. "He was always staying outside of himself and not succumbing to despair or grief. That's an incredible inner strength which I believe does come from his faith."
Well-known actor Aaron Eckhart ("Dark Knight," "Olympus Has Fallen") plays Steinmark's coach Darrell Royal, the character in which the movie begins and ends with. Eckhart shared that he wanted to be a part of the telling of this story because of its positive message.
"I'm always looking for ways to be a better person. I have a long way to go and [in] dealing with adversity I don't know that I would deal with it as well as Freddie did," Eckhart explained. "When I read this script I got emotional, that's why I wanted to do this movie. I think kids watching this script and seeing how Freddie played through pain and was inspirational, took on a bigger challenge."
The diverse actor said he believes the film has a larger role and purpose than throwing a football perfectly or tackling someone. "It's about how we rally around each other as human beings and come out better for it," he said.
