Director George Tillman Jr. (The Hate U Give, Soul Food, Notorious) and Oscar winner Forest Whitaker discuss the challenges of adapting a legendary boxer’s life story for the big screen. Big George Foreman follows the iconic athlete from a troubled youth in Houston’s impoverished Fifth Ward to heavyweight champion. He suffered a crushing defeat to Muhammad Ali, nearly died in the ring, and lost his fortune after finding religion purpose. The film chronicles an incredible second act. Foreman reclaimed the title at an astonishing 46 years old. He then became a best-selling pitch man with the supremely popular George Foreman Grill.
Tillman Jr. recounts enormous difficulties from the start. The great Michael K. Williams, who tragically passed away on September 6, 2021, was originally cast as Doc Broadus, the trainer who guided George Foreman to the pinnacle of athletic greatness. Williams death came right after a hurricane destroyed their production office. Tillman Jr. was overjoyed to have Whitaker read the script and take the role on short notice. He comments on “a lot of ups and downs” but “George Foreman himself” kept him going. The boxer suffered “many losses in his life but kept pushing.”
Both men give extraordinary praise to Khris Davis’ performance as George Foreman. He had extensive physical training for a year, then gained 50 pounds in 5 weeks to play the older character. Tillman Jr. discovered Davis after “weeks” of searching on stage. He saw clips of Davis portraying boxer Jack Johnson at Lincoln Center, then brought him in for chemistry tests with Sullivan Jones, who plays Muhammad Ali. Whitaker joined the film with Davis “deep into the character.” He was fully “committed” and willing to “sacrifice” for the role.
Forest Whitaker as Doc Broadus
MW: You’ve gone from playing the Godfather of Harlem to the Godfather of Boxing. Doc Broadus is a legend in the sport. Talk about portraying him and getting into his character?
Forest Whitaker: I was lucky there was a documentary made about him. So I started first looking at the research I could read in itself. But then I got a chance to watch him, listen to his behavior, watch the way he gestured, what got him upset, what got him excited. That really helped me a lot. Then just looking at some films, and just reminding myself of those films from childhood. He started to slowly form himself.
MW: Let’s get to the two Georges – George Foreman and George Tillman Jr. Talk about working with your director, and how Mr. Foreman helped inform your portrayal of Doc Broadus?
Forest Whitaker: They worked with him on the script to make sure that it was accurate. He felt that it was portraying his life properly. George [Tillman Jr.] was really caught into detail. They had been prepping the film for quite a long time. I think a couple of years, he had been working on trying to get the film made, storyboarding, and getting the actor. Khris, he worked almost a year just to get his body shifted over to be able to learn how to box. Then be able to lose all that weight. George Tillman was able to kind of pull all that together under the watchful eye of George Foreman.
MW: Khris gives an amazing performance. You’re such a venerated actor. Did you give him any advice or help with his process?
Forest Whitaker: He was really deep into character. He found his way of speaking and moving. By the time I got there, we were just two artists. He’s a really talented actor. He really was committed, like all actors will commit, to making the kind of sacrifice, physically and emotionally, that he had to do to play this part. First off, just learning how to box, learning this character, the way he speaks, moves, and then actually gaining a lot of weight to play a certain part of the character’s life. He was ready and there. We just tried to share as two artists together on the screen.
MW: What’s the best day and worst day on the set of big George Foreman for you?
Forest Whitaker: I think it’s cool when George Foreman came to the set. That was really nice. They brought out the flags, everybody’s taking photographs, and you feel that energy because it’s George Foreman. It’s legendary. We had… I don’t know if it was a tornado, or something, but we had to move from our sets to another location for safety. That’s not the greatest day (laughs). But as far as working with the artists, Khris, and George [Tillman Jr.]. It went smoothly. It worked out really well.
Director George Tillman Jr.
MW: Talk about the process from the beginning, getting the script together, and working with George Foreman?
George Tillman Jr: It was an interesting, tough process because George’s story is such an amazing story. There’s so much great material in it because it is all true. You know what I mean? Just being a young man overlooked in Houston. He went to the Olympics after a year or two of boxing, knocking out the great Joe Frazier six times in two rounds, losing to [Muhammad] Ali, and then winning later. But then the relationships, the spiritual side of a young man who changed completely from fists to love. I was able just to find the right moments, the pieces to keep this narrative going.
George Tillman Jr: For me, having George Foreman just at a phone call away [was helpful]. What happened in round eight? What were you thinking before the knockdown with Ali? Who were you afraid of? “I was afraid of Joe Frazier.” What, you weren’t afraid of Ali? “No, I wasn’t afraid of Ali. I thought I could get Ali in two rounds. It was Joe Frazier. I was shocked to boast that I knocked Joe Frazier out.” Those stories made him human to me, because he was such an iconic individual. That made it exciting. All that excitement and fun, I tried to bring into the movie as much as I could.
MW: Forest Whitaker is an Academy Award winner, one of the greatest actors of our day. But I was blown away by Khris Davis. How did you find him?
George Tillman Jr: That was a really interesting process, because I was looking for about three, four weeks. Then I saw a picture of this young man at Lincoln Center playing Jack Johnson on stage. Jack Johnson had the bald head. He was a little bigger. I think that could be a possibility here. I wasn’t familiar with him. I saw some clips of the play. I got to see him. He came out to LA. We did a chemistry test with him and Sullivan Jones playing Ali.
George Tillman Jr: My first time seeing him at 6’4, [I thought], “Wow, he can do physical, the bigger George, and he can get the younger George.” The chemistry tests let me know that he was the guy. That was amazing. But even when you find somebody, do they got the stamina? Do they got the dedication? He was beyond that because we worked for a year. He worked for a year on George Foreman. Then he had to stop for six weeks to gain the weight. I didn’t want to do any bodysuits. I didn’t want to do no visual effects. His shirt is off. He’s in the ring. I want it to feel as real as possible.
George Tillman Jr: He got up to that weight for me. That was just amazing. Every day, I’m just sitting behind the monitor. I can’t believe this guy. I’m looking at George Foreman. The most amazing part is when George came on the set one day. And just seeing George over here, then seeing Chris over there. I was just like, we got our George Foreman. We are where we need to be.
MW: What’s the best and worst day for you filming Big George Foreman?
George Tillman Jr: I’m gonna just tell you the worst. It was before production. It was the news for me that Michael K. Williams passed away. He’s supposed to play Doc Broadus part. That was the toughest because we had just left for a hurricane. A hurricane blew away our production office. We had to start over, then that news came. The best time for me is when Forest Whitaker read the script. And he says, “Hey, I want to do the movie. I want to come in where Michael K. was supposed to play the part.”
George Tillman Jr: Just having Forest Whitaker, an Oscar winner, becoming involved to play the legendary Doc Broadus. It was just amazing in that respect to Michael K. and what he was able to bring in pre-production. There were a lot of ups and downs. But what kept me going is George Foreman himself. There are a lot of losses in his life, but he kept pushing. So I just kept moving, and that was the point of the story, George’s story.
Big George Foreman will be released theatrically on April 28th from Sony Pictures.
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