Like Jackie Robinson, '42' star accepts risks

2013-04-09 19:18:09

Writer-director Brian Helgeland invited 30 actors to audition for the role of Dodger legend Jackie Robinson in the film "42," which opens Friday.

He need not have bothered.

Chadwick Boseman was the second actor on that list, and Helgeland said he knew immediately that he had found his star.

"When he left, I turned to the casting director and said, 'That's the guy.'"

The casting director reminded him that there were 28 more actors to look at, but Helgeland shook his head. "He just set the bar very high," the director said of Boseman, "and I don't think anyone can get over the bar."

Helgeland, who won an Oscar in 1998 for writing the screenplay for "L.A. Confidential," said all the actors had to perform four scenes from the movie during the auditions, and the most daunting takes place in the tunnel leading to the Dodgers' dugout when Robinson smashes a bat after being pummeled by racial epithets at a game.

"All of the actors saved it for last because it was so draining, but Chad made a bold choice and did it first. He really went for it, almost exactly the way he does it in the film. Most actors trying to win a role will play it safe and take a middle-of-the-road approach to a scene, but Chad went all out, and he had to know that it might cost him the job. I thought he nailed it. It was a brave move, and that means something when you're going to play a brave person."

Robinson, who wore No. 42 for the Dodgers, was the player hand-picked by Dodger executive Branch Rickey to break Major League Baseball's color barrier in 1947. The former UCLA athlete put up with unspeakable abuse from fans, other players and some of his own teammates. Ralph Branca and Pee Wee Reese are depicted in the film as supporting Robinson, who played 10 seasons before retiring at 37. In 1997, the league retired Robinson's number for all teams. The only exception is April 15 – Jackie Robinson Day – when every player wears 42 in honor of Robinson.

Harrison Ford plays Rickey, and Nicole Beharie portrays Robinson's widow Rachel, who assisted Helgeland when he was writing the script.

"As a writer, I couldn't invent something better than what really happened," Helgeland said. "So many books have been written on the subject, even from the people involved, that it would have been a disservice to history to change things. As for Rachel, she made suggestions along the way, particularly with dialogue."

Helgeland said Rachel Robinson insisted that the aforementioned scene in the tunnel never happened, but the director defended his decision, adding that it was the only scene in the film that he invented.

"Branca said Robinson was the bravest man he'd ever met and that if he broke down, Branca didn't see it. I thought about what he said. I don't believe that anyone could have gone through what Robinson went through without ever emoting. I believe that it happened, but nobody witnessed it."

Boseman sat down with the Orange County Register in the Jackie Robinson room of the L.A. Sports Museum to talk about the role, what Robinson meant to him and why this movie is more important than most.

ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER: I would imagine that this is not just another period piece for you; that there is a sense of great responsibility in playing Jackie Robinson.

CHADWICK BOSEMAN: Absolutely. First, because I'm African American. Second, because I know kids will watch this movie and, for some of them, it will be their introduction to Jackie Robinson. They'll know him from my performance. Third, there are a lot of people who revere him and don't want to be let down. Lastly, you want to do right by Rachel Robinson and the family. It's a huge responsibility. I'm probably not even listing all the reasons. It's probably good I could block all that out (laughs).

Q. Was there ever a chance that you might turn down the role because of all those reasons?

A. No. When Brian called me to tell me I had the role, he said, "Do you want to play Jackie Robinson?" That's how he worded it – "Do you want it?" It's a good question because it's possible someone might not want that pressure. But I said "Of course."

Q. Do you realize that there are many people, including African American kids, who have never heard of Jackie Robinson?

A. That's one of the reasons that (producer) Thomas Tull is so passionate about Jackie Robinson. There is a huge portrait of Jackie in his office. He was doing some event with Ken Griffey Jr., and Ken said something about Jackie Robinson and the kids didn't know who he was talking about. Ken turned to Tom and said, "We have to do something about that."

Q. How much did you know about Jackie Robinson?

A. As a kid, I learned about him during Black History Month. His name always came up. But my parents were the type of parents who made me aware of these things all year long. I knew who he was, and I knew his impact.

Q. Did that knowledge help you in portraying him?

A. The way we learn history in this country is through heroes. But you can't play the hero; you have to play the man.

Q. And you want to get it right because his wife is very much involved, right?

A. She read drafts of the script. It was great to have her involved, but it definitely set a very high bar. But I prefer it that way. I would rather it be authentic. I would rather have it confirmed than make it up.

Q. Did you ever have to make it up?

A. Well, I studied footage of Jackie playing baseball, and the way they covered baseball back then was that they showed the players in the batter's box, but not how they prepared before stepping into the box. I had to act that part. I had to make that up.

Q. Once you're in the box, there must have been specific training for you to mimic Robinson's unusual swing.

A. First there was regular baseball training from the middle of January through May. They showed me how to play second base, and how to play first base, but then the coaches concentrated on his swing, on the way he touched his foot to the base, the way he made tags and anything else different about the way Jackie played.

Q. How did these coaches know how Jackie Robinson played the game?

A. From his Hall of Fame footage. Then, every two weeks, they would shoot our practice, and then run it as a split screen with Jackie's footage to make sure we were doing it right. We also could slow down his footage to see how he did things.

Q. What was it about his swing that was so different?

A. Pitchers wanted to pitch him inside, and most of the time he would pull the ball. His tendency to do that would make him lunge at the ball. That's part of it. There's also a hitch in his swing. The bats were heavier back then, and that caused the hitch. His hitch made his look seem unorthodox, but the more we studied it, the more textbook it seemed. But he did swing with his arms fully extended.

Q. I understand his running style on the bases was different as well?

A. He ran like a running back, which he was in college. His style was actually a drawback. He brought that style from the Negro Leagues. If you were standing in the baseline, he would run over you.

Q. Did you ever play baseball?

A. Not since Little League.

Q. There are scenes in this movie when Jackie has to deal with "colored only" and "whites only" barriers. Did acting in those scenes have any emotional impact on you?

A. Acting is a weird profession because you want to feel emotions. You want to feel uncomfortable. You search for those things that you can tap into. In this case, I was angry, but I was joyous to find something to tap into. There's a scene in the beginning of the movie when we're at a gas station. You could see the "colored only" and "whites only" signs on the door. They were painted over but you could still see them. It was an eerie, very unsettling feeling to be in a place that actually was one of those places. One of the train stations we shot at in Macon had engraved "whites only" and "colored only" signs. That's the reality, which made the experience of making this movie all the more real for me.


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