TORONTO — Oscar-winning actors Geoffrey Rush and Jeremy Irons are bound for Montreal to star in a film about track and field star Jesse Owens and his quest for Olympic glory.
British actor John Boyega will portray Owens in Race, which is set to begin shooting in Berlin and Montreal in late May.
Directed by Stephen Hopkins (House of Lies), the film will tell the story of how Owens, an African-American, spoiled Adolph Hitler’s goal of Aryan supremacy at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by winning four gold medals.
Owens died in 1980 at 66.
Irons, 65, recently starred in The Borgias and has appeared in films like Beautiful Creatures and Lolita. He won an Oscar in 1991 for his role in Reversal of Fortune.
Rush, 62, has been nominated for four Oscars — he won in 1997 for Shine — and has a long list of credits that includes The King’s Speech and several Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
Race is also expected to star Carice Van Houten (Game of Thrones).
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