Jennifer Lopez: Nobody tells you the real experience about being a mum
Jharrel Jerome and Jennifer Lopez at a photocall for Unstoppable, the film landing on Amazon Prime. (Photo by John Phillips/Getty Images)
Whenever American singer and songwriter Jennifer Lopez takes on a new project, she does so because she feels there are parts of herself that are broken.
So it’s no surprise that the 55-year-old learned a few lessons while shooting new Prime Video film, Unstoppable, in which she plays Judy Robles, the mother of American wrestler Anthony Robles, who was born with one leg.
“All the best projects that you get to be involved with as an artist and an actor, we do it, I do it, because there are little pieces and parts of me that are broken, and I get to kind of put those back together through the characters that I play, and they wind up healing you in a way,” says Lopez.
“And playing this character of Judy through myself, going into different parts of my life that were similar to what emotionally – if not exactly – what she went through, you see things through a different lens. It makes your life better. It changes you. It grows you. It heals you. And that’s what I would say I took away from this project and by playing Judy.”
The American biographical sports drama tells the inspiring true story of Robles – played by American actor Jharrel Jerome, 27, who gained prominence for his portrayal of Korey Wise in Ava DuVernay’s Netflix miniseries When They See Us – whose indomitable spirit and unbreakable resolve empowered him to defy the odds and pursue his dreams.
With the unwavering love and support of his devoted mother Judy, and the encouragement of his coaches, Anthony fights through adversity to earn a spot on the Arizona State wrestling team. But the journey to achieve his ultimate quest to become an NCAA Champion demands everything he has, both physically and mentally.
Sometimes when parents get older, roles reverse and their children start parenting them. But in the film, Anthony is treated as an adult from a young age, and as a result, it changes the dynamics of his relationship with his mother.
People are lost and found in motherhood, “It’s part of being a mother,” admits Lopez. “You give your whole life to your kids and then you have to remember not to lose yourself. Nobody really talks about what it’s really like to be a mum.
“There’s a lot of books, and there’s a lot of people who’ll give you little nuggets here and there, but nobody tells you the real experience about being a mum. When you have this child, you want everything in the world for them, and you nurture them, and then they have to individuate from you and kind of go off on their own.
“Judy was also adultified very young because she had him [Anthony] when she was 16. So they both kind of grew up together. And I’m sure the impact of that, for me, from what I see for the two of them, is that they became friends, not just mother and son. Although they had a very tender – and they still do – mother and son relationship, they also understand each other in a different way, I think, than when you have a much older parent.”
“It’s the beauty of the film that Anthony goes through all these hurdles and all these struggles, all these ups, all these downs, and then he realises Judy was there the entire time. Whether he’s on the mat and he can hear her in the crowd, or whether he’s at home. And it’s almost like the strength didn’t just come from working out. It didn’t just come from wrestling other guys. It came from his mother and his family as well,” says Jerome.
Lopez agrees and adds: “Her voice in his head saying, ‘You can do this. Don’t think about what you don’t have. Think about what you do have.’ These are things that Anthony says all the time. And when I first read the script, I thought to myself, this is Anthony’s story. But when I got to know Anthony and Judy, I was like, well, this is Anthony’s story, but it’s also the story of the two of them and what they did for each other as a family.” Jerome made his film debut in 2016, starring in Barry Jenkins’s drama film Moonlight, and in 2023, he was cast as 13-foot-tall Cootie, the lead role in Boots Riley’s miniseries I’m A Virgo. But Unstoppable was his first lead role in a film, which he says really challenged him as an actor.
“This was by far the most challenging role I’ve done, especially physically. I just pushed myself in ways I never thought I could. I bent my body and learned my posture, my work ethic and fitness, and it’s led to who I am as a person today. I care for myself, my self-care, my routine, my schedule. It actually comes from learning Anthony’s militant mindset and his way of living, and I’m so inspired by it. So I kind of just took it and said, ‘I’ma steal that’, you know? And it’s nice to have a role that can change your life,” says Jerome.
“It’s my first time being the lead of any project [film]. So my dream is that I can back it up again, fairly soon, and do it over and over, and follow in the footsteps of people I look up to.” In the same way that working on this project has changed Lopez and Jerome, American film director William Goldenberg, 65, wants people who see Unstoppable to understand Anthony Robles’ impact, too.
“I want people who see the film to understand the effect he [Anthony Robles] has on people. The thing that fascinated me most, or got me most interested when I first met him in Arizona, is that everybody knows who he is in Mesa, and around Mesa,” says Goldenberg.
“I mean, everywhere we went, you couldn’t go five seconds without somebody coming up and wanting to have an autograph or a picture, or just to say hi and you could see the looks on people’s faces, especially kids.
“It’s like you’ve never met somebody like this. And his story, although so unique, is also universal. They’re regular people trying to get through their lives. And I just thought, as unique an individual as he is, I think everybody can identify with him and or some of the struggles he’s gone through.”
- Unstoppable comes to Prime Video on Thursday, January 16
