Many men and women have taken home gold medals from the Olympic Games, but few have done so under the kind of pressure Jesse Owens faced in the summer of 1936. In Race, out Feb. 19, Stephan James plays Owens in the lead-up to that competition, as broader political forces—the rise of Hitler’s Nazi regime and the United States’ deliberations over how to respond to it—call into question whether he will be afforded a shot at all but certain victory.
In this featurette, James, director Stephen Hopkins, co-star Jeremy Irons and Owens’ real-life daughters discuss the contributions of the track star, whose significance transcends his great feats of athleticism. “Around the time where he was contemplating going to the Olympics, he had a lot of people pulling him from both sides,” explains James, referring to the NAACP’s request that Owens boycott the Games to send a message about Hitler’s policies toward Jews and people of color.
Owens’ ultimate decision is no secret to history: He set three world records and tied another in less than an hour in Berlin, taking home four gold medals. But in Race, the considerations that went into his decision to compete at all—whether to speak volumes with his absence or with total athletic domination—are what give the movie legs.
See the Controversial Drama of Adolf Hitler’s 1936 Summer Olympics
Five young women take part in a display of the Olympic Rings at the 1936 Olympic Games in BerlinPopperfoto—Getty ImagesBeginning of the eleventh Olympic Games. Aug. 1,1936. Imagno—Getty ImagesUSA's legendary Jesse Owens on his way to winning one of his four gold medals, in the men's 100 meter final at the 1936 Olympic Games in BerlinPopperfoto—Getty ImagesThe 13-year-old springboard diver Marjorie Gestring at the Olympic Games in Berlin. Aug. 12, 1936. Austrian Archives/Imagno—Getty ImagesA German technician checks the Television canon put in the Olympic Stadium, Aug. 1, 1936. The huge electronic camera build by Telefunken broadcast live for the first time, 8 hours each day, the Berlin Olympics Games show.CORR/AFP—Getty ImagesJesse Owens and Helen Stephens at the Berlin Olympic Games in 1936Photo 12/UIG—Getty ImagesGisela Mauermayer, of Germany, winner of the gold medal in the Discus event at the 1936 Olympic Games.Bob Thomas/Popperfoto—Getty ImagesDr. Joseph Goebbels, German Chancellor Adolf Hitler, Reichs Sports Leader Hans von Tschammer und Osten and Generalfeldmarschall Werner von Blomberg observe the Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany in August 1936. AP PhotoWinner of the men's javelin throw event at the Summer Olympic Games, German athlete Gerhard Stoeck. in action on Aug. 6, 1936 in BerlinAP PhotoThe Women's 80 Meter Hurdles at the 1936 Olympic Games, in BerlinPopperfoto—Getty ImagesThe Racing Cyclists Robert Charpentier, Guy Lapebie, Jean Goujon and Roger Le Nizerhy just after having won at the Olympic Games in Berlin in August 1936.Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone—Getty ImagesBasketball action between the Philippines and Mexico at the 1936 Olympic Games in BerlinPopperfoto—Getty ImagesThe German female javelin throwers Tilly Fleischer (Gold Medal) and Luis Kruger (Silver Medal) with Polish bronze-medalist Marja Kwasniewska, on the podium at the Olympic Games In Berlin on Aug. 2, 1936.Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone—Getty ImagesGermany's Tilly Fleischer, who won the gold medal in women's javelin, at the 1936 Olympic Games in BerlinPopperfoto—Getty ImagesOlympic broad jump medalists salute during the medals ceremony at the Summer Olympics in Berlin. From left on podium are: bronze medalist Jajima of Japan, gold medalist Jesse Owens of the United States and silver medalist Lutz Long of Germany. Aug. 11, 1936.AP PhotoOlympic winner Gustav 'Gummi' Schaefer, German rower, with the laurel wreath during the Summer Olympics in Berlin-Grünau in August 1936. Schirner Sportfoto/picture-alliance/dpa—AP PhotoA stonemason at work records the feat of USA's Jesse Owens, winner of four gold medals in the Games, in 1936 in BerlinPopperfoto—Getty Images
