Jennifer Lopez and Producers Ben Affleck, Matt Damon ‘Cared About Us as People,’ Says Unstoppable’s Anthony Robles (Exclusive)

Anthony Robles worked with a group of Hollywood’s starriest filmmakers to turn his life story into the new movie Unstoppable.

Born with one leg and a 2011 NCAA championship winner, Robles, 36, is played by Jharrel Jerome in the biopic based on his 2013 memoir, while Jennifer Lopez plays his mother Judy. Bobby Cannavale, Michael Peña and Don Cheadle also star. As Robles tells PEOPLE, “It’s a star-studded cast.”

The same can be said for the behind-the-camera crew. Along with William Goldenberg, whom Robles calls “an amazing director,” Unstoppable came to life thanks to producers Ben Affleck and Matt Damon through their production company Artists Equity.

“Ben and Matt, they made it a point to include my family through everything,” says the former wrestler, who launched his wrestling career from humble beginnings in his hometown of Mesa, Arizona. Depicted in the movie are the highs and lows of Robles’ years at Arizona State University as he and his four half-siblings endured a difficult relationship with their mother’s husband.

“I stand by what we showed in that film,” says Robles, who prioritized “accuracy” as producer, consultant and Jerome’s stunt double in wrestling scenes.

It was the filmmakers determined to tell his story authentically who helped him achieve that goal. “It was cool just to see how fired up [Affleck] was about the whole process,” he recalls.

Robles’ family members, he says, “were just grateful for how much care and attention that everyone showed, beginning with Billy, all the way to Jharell and Jennifer. They cared about our input, our insight, and just our concerns.”

He adds, “It’s one thing for them to be excited about telling our story, but they really just cared about us as people.”

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During filming, the cast and crew spent time with the Robles family in Arizona. “To see Jennifer and my mom just spending hours talking, and Jennifer really opening up to her and sharing things about her life — they bonded,” he says. “Same thing with Jharrel and I. It was really more of an organic friendship that we were just able to build together, separately, to trust and to open up about those things.”

With Unstoppable on the page, big screen and now streaming, Robles hopes his tale of overcoming the odds inspires others. “The story itself is something I’m proud of and that’s special to me,” he says.

“I want everyone to relate to the fact that we all wrestle with a challenge. It can be a physical challenge, it could be mental, it can be relationships. There’s always going to be an opponent in your life that you face. It doesn’t matter what background you have, everyone understands that.”

Unstoppable is now streaming on Prime Video.

Source people.com