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The late-summer blockbuster tasked with trying to get Americans back into movie theaters is “Tenet,” a time-twisting science fiction thriller directed by Christopher Nolan, he of “Inception” and the “Dark Knight” Batman trilogy.

The much-awaited film has a cast that includes established stars such as Robert Pattinson and Kenneth Branagh, but the lead is 36-year-old John David Washington, who has followed his father Denzel’s path into acting in the last five years, starring in the HBO show “Ballers” and Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman.” Even if COVID-19 keeps “Tenet” from being a huge commercial success, if the film is critically well-received, it could elevate John David — J.D. to friends — to mainstream Hollywood stardom.

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Before he turned to acting, John David spent a decade playing college and pro football, and the undersized running back went from a North Hollywood private school to Morehouse College in Atlanta, from the practice squad of the NFL’s St. Louis Rams to NFL Europe to four seasons in the obscurity of the United Football League.

His football story, like his life, is full of brushes with celebrity, of hard work as he tried to forge an identity of his own, and of his parents’ relentless support, even as their presence at his games inevitably pulled the spotlight away from him. As he continues to build a promising career in acting, his path was set in motion with a long, winding football career, most memorable for its simple persistence.

“In 15 years of coaching, he’s one of the human beings that stands out, out of a hundred guys a year you meet,” said Mike McDaniel, his position coach in the UFL in 2009-10 and now an assistant with the San Francisco 49ers. “What stood out immediately was that I saw a drive from a guy that I’ve only seen once before, in a guy I’ve worked closely with for 14 years, Kyle Shanahan. What they had in common was they had as famous a father as one could have in their particular fields. What was so cool about John David Washington, and it really reminded me of Kyle, is here they had these uber-successful fathers that cast an enormous shadow, but they clearly had their heels dug in to try to be their own man.”

High school in Hollywood

John David Washington is the oldest of four children for Denzel Washington and his wife of 37 years, Pauletta, also an accomplished actress. His sister Katia is 33, and twins Olivia and Malcolm are 29. When he was 8, John David had a cameo in Spike Lee’s “Malcolm X,” for which his father was nominated for an Academy Award in 1992.

Denzel’s best sport was basketball, and he played on the junior varsity team while he was at Fordham, with future NBA coach P.J. Carlesimo as his coach. But John David liked football, and he found success at Campbell Hall, a private school in the Studio City neighborhood of Los Angeles. The Vikings had just moved up from eight-man football to full 11-man competition his freshman year, and he helped turn them into a playoff team. Campbell Hall’s location and prestige — tuition is now as much as $44,000 a year — give it a student body star-studded with the children of well-known celebrities, but rarely as big as Washington.

Anthony Harris, then head coach at Campbell Hall, now head coach at Pierce College in Los Angeles: My first memory of J.D. was seeing him at a middle school flag football game. On the smaller side, hadn’t really developed physically yet, but you could see he had something special. I was hoping he would come to our school. Even as a freshman, you could see he really had a passion for the game. It was really important to him. He just developed really quickly. His body changed. He had a fire that was on 24/7. He turned out to be an exceptional athlete for us.

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Denzel and Pauletta would attend their son’s games, and that set up a recurring theme that would continue throughout John David’s playing career, his wanting to create a name for himself as more than just the son of a famous actor. 

Russell Gordon, then Campbell Hall’s running backs coach, now offensive coordinator at Antelope Valley College: He was an extremely hard worker, worked to create an image of himself without anybody else in the background. His dad did a great job of supporting him but staying to the side, not trying to get into the limelight whatsoever. The whole situation was awesome. They didn’t miss many games at all. It was amazing.

Harris: He always wanted to create his own identity, didn’t really want people to know Denzel was his father. He wanted to create his own identity, and football gave him an opportunity to do that.

The Hollywood presence at Campbell Hall was strong enough that the team’s quarterback, Matt Kaplan (now an actor and producer) was going out with former child actress Ashley Olsen, who with twin sister Mary-Kate was on the school’s cheerleading squad.

Harris: The star factor itself was pretty big, more for our opponents. When you’re looking down at the roster, Denzel Washington’s son is the running back on this team. For us, it was status quo. At Campbell Hall, there were very prominent people in our community. It was pretty common for us, Denzel being such a megastar, but he’s one of the most down-to-earth people I’ve ever met, just as normal as they come. You had the star power of Denzel, then the quarterback is dating one of the Olsen twins. It was really an interesting time. It was normal for us.

Gordon: He was the silent assassin. Very quiet, played very hard, didn’t care much about the spotlight.

Harris: You could put him anywhere you wanted. Linebacker, corner, safety. Not the biggest guy, but he had the biggest heart on the field

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Washington led Campbell Hall to an 11-1-1 record his senior year in 2001, rushing for 1,980 yards and 26 touchdowns. Newspapers covering his games typically identified him parenthetically as Denzel’s son, but he stands alone in the stat leaders of the Los Angeles Times, still online 19 years later.

Gordon: Their family dynamic was so neat. They wanted to make sure he had a great experience. Denzel and Pauletta and Jim Brown, they would all come watch the game.

Yes, Jim Brown, one of the greatest running backs in NFL history, a Hall of Famer who turned to acting after his football retirement, appearing in “The Dirty Dozen” when he was 30 years old and 50 other movies before he was done. That included 1998’s “He Got Game,” which starred Denzel and helped the two forge a friendship.

Brown: That’s a long time ago, but what I remember is that he was good. He could run the ball. We’re family. When you have a father and a son that can hold his own in the world, I have a lot of admiration for the fact that the son was doing it his own way. The world knows about his father. A lot of people who have fathers and mothers who are stars have a hard time in life. J.D. established his own ground but respected his father and his family. That’s not easy to do, but he’s the very example of how to do it. Denzel is a successful human being. He didn’t know how to be himself and also allow his son to do his thing. Denzel could go anywhere and fit in, but he did a great job when it came to representing his son. They’ll always be my friends. I’m sort of like a recluse now. They’ll always be a part of my thought process, a very positive aspect of my life. Those were good days.

Gordon: Jim Brown would come watch some of the games. Then I coached Sonny Corleone’s son. James Caan, his son Jake played for me at LaSalle (College Prep). He was an honorary captain. He didn’t miss any games.

The fall of John David’s junior year, Denzel starred as a football coach in “Remember the Titans,” and he brought the real Herman Boone, the legendary Virginia high school coach he portrayed in the movie, to a Campbell Hall game as a guest.

Harris: Herman Boone! Denzel brought him to one of our playoff games. I had a chance to meet him and it was one of the highlights of my coaching career. Coach Boone was impressed with me as a coach and got me to be one of the coaches for the U.S. Army All-American game. J.D. had gotten selected for that game a few years prior.

Playing at the next level: Morehouse

Washington’s level of recruiting interest varies depending on who you ask, but as he sought the college experience away from the bright lights of Los Angeles, he chose Atlanta’s Morehouse College, a historically black college not particularly known for its football.

Years earlier, Denzel and Pauletta had emceed a fund-raising gala at Morehouse, where they had a nephew enrolled as a student. Another family friend, boxing promoter Butch Lewis, had his son Brandon at Morehouse and spoke highly of the school, which had its share of prominent, historic alumni. Civil rights icon Martin Luther King graduated in 1948 from Morehouse, and more recent graduates included actor Samuel L. Jackson (1972) and Spike Lee (1979).

Andre Pattillo, then Morehouse’s athletic director: They were impressed with the atmosphere and the environment and what Morehouse, as a predominantly black, all-male institution, stood for. Denzel reached out, and he and his wife said his son was interested in playing football at Morehouse.

Pattillo, friends with Lee since they were classmates at Morehouse, had returned to the school as a football assistant and later was the college’s director of admissions before running the athletic department. At the Washingtons’ request, he flew to Los Angeles to see John David play in person.

Pattillo: I didn’t know what kind of athlete he was, but when I flew out to see him play, I was extremely impressed with what I saw on the football field. He may have scored three or four touchdowns himself and intercepted a couple of passes. I’m like, “Wow.” I came back and told the football coach that this was a kid we needed to take an interest in. His athleticism was going to get him several looks. USC was looking at him, Purdue was looking at him. I’m like, “Let little old Morehouse throw its hat in there, see whether or not he might be interested.”

Willard Scissum, then Morehouse’s head football coach: We were given John David’s film in 2002 by the athletic director. Andre Pattillo was friends with Spike Lee, and Mr. Washington and Spike Lee had worked together a great deal. The athletic director gave me the tape and we watched it as a staff. We were all super impressed how he was killing that league he was in. We told the AD of course that we wanted him.

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Pattillo: When he decided he was going to come to Morehouse, we were all happy. Denzel called me and said “I want you to look after my son. I have a few coins, so you don’t have to worry about a scholarship. I can take care of it.” I made it clear to Denzel: This is for John David and not for you. I understand the position you’re in, but let him be proud of something he has accomplished for himself. This is something he earned.

Scissum: Once everyone found out that Mr. Washington’s son — I always refer to all my players’ parents as Mr. and Mrs. — was on the team, at that time, Mr. Washington had just won an Academy Award. He was really at the peak of his career. It was unbelievable the interest in the program, not just from the student body, but from media, radio personalities in Atlanta. I remember Ruben Studdard from American Idol came to our game, a lot of celebrities. Oh, my gosh, Spike Lee was at several games. There was one game in particular, he asked me if he could stand on the sidelines, and I said “Of course!” He is a character now. He stood not far from me, and he would give the referees trouble when they’d make bad calls. It was all in good fun.

Pattillo: It was exciting. Denzel is known worldwide, everywhere. People were surprised of the support John David got from his parents. I wasn’t surprised. His mother is as strong as any mother I’ve ever seen, period, with their kids. She made sure he had the things he needed to develop into a strong, positive person, but was there to support him in every way. They always came in to support their child, that he knew they were there to support him. Being Denzel’s son, he got an enormous amount of attention, but it was clear it was attention he didn’t want.

John David declined many interview requests while at Morehouse, or declined to take questions about his father’s career when he did speak to reporters. (Through his publicist, he declined requests to be interviewed for this story, as did his father.) But he spoke with reverence about his parents, and how much it meant to have them at games.

John David, to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2002: My parents are my focus, my motivation. They keep me going. My mom has always been my strength. She’s always been there for me. At the same time, people would probably be shocked as to how close me and my father are. He’s the best provider any son could ask for, and he’s very hands-on.

It didn’t take long for John David to make an impression. He rushed for 119 yards in a 45-16 win against Kentucky State, scoring on touchdowns of 23 and 58 yards. The Atlanta Voice, covering the game, wrote that “Anyone who believes that John David Washington’s acquisition by Morehouse College was little more than a favor turned for the son of Academy Award-winning actor Denzel has been profoundly silenced by his performance in the last three games.”

Scissum: I remember a run he made against Kentucky State, in a Classic that we played in Lexington, his freshman year. Boy, I’m telling you, he ripped them to shreds. We took him out and didn’t play him past the middle of the third quarter, and he had well over 100 yards. We could have loaded him up with another 50-60 yards if we kept running him. He was on fire. He could cut and it was no herky-jerky motion, just really smooth and athletic.

On the fringe of the NFL: Ram tough

Despite leaving Morehouse as the school’s all-time leading rusher (3,669 yards), Washington was not selected in the 2006 NFL Draft. He signed with the St. Louis Rams as an undrafted free agent. In 2006 and 2007, he was among the Rams’ final cuts but returned on the practice squad, working with future Hall of Famers but never taking the field in a regular-season game.

Greg Olson, then Rams offensive coordinator, now Raiders OC: Very humble. You would never have known his father was a famous actor. Just tried to do his job, quietly, didn’t expect any preferential treatment. He was actually just a real pleasant person to be around. At first, when you first sign somebody like that, your first instinct is that maybe there’s a sense of entitlement possibly, but it wasn’t that way at all. He was a pleasure to be around. He understood his role on the practice squad and tried to perform it to the best of his abilities.

Scott Linehan, then Rams head coach, now an LSU assistant: Almost everybody knew he was the son of a very famous actor, so you always were kind of curious as to how that translated. Just a very gracious, kind young man, highly competitive. Wasn’t the biggest running back, the fastest, any of those things, but I always felt he was very driven, as you can see in his post-athletic career. He’s his own man, able to make his own mark in acting. You could tell that was going to be something he was going to be good at.

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Marques Hagans, then a rookie receiver, now the receivers coach at Virginia: When we did the rookie show, he did his dad’s scene from “Training Day.” It brought the whole place down. It became “Hey, J.D., do Training Day again,” and he’s like, “Bro, it’s not going to be as good if you guys ask me to do it every 20 minutes, every day.”

Isaac Bruce, then Rams receiver, now in Pro Football Hall of Fame: He did the actual best Denzel Washington imitation I’ve ever seen in my life. The funny thing about that is, you go in a locker room, we’re mostly quoting movie scripts a lot. We’ll have a situation and this quote just goes with what happens. Time and time again, we’d choose him to get up and quote some of that stuff as his dad. He was spot on. It was amazing. If you were to close your eyes, you would have thought it was Denzel Washington.

Torry Holt, Rams receiver, seven-time Pro Bowl selection: He had a very cool way to keep us entertained with his impressions of his dad. It really ignited the locker room after his performances. It was a way for us to get through training camp and stay energetic and keep our minds off the grind. At times, it would become a little irritating for him. I wouldn’t say irritating, just “I don’t want to do it this time!” But he would muster up energy and come through with lines from his dad. It was really fun to watch him. I knew from that point, I said yeah, he’s chasing football, which is great, but it’s in him to carry on the legacy of what his parents created, and we’re seeing that.

In Washington’s first preseason game in 2006, going up against Peyton Manning and the Colts, his first carry came from the Rams’ 2-yard line, and he gained 8 yards. He finished with just 15 yards that game, with only three more carries for zero yards in the remaining three games. Once the season started, the Rams didn’t bring their practice squad players on the road, so he would watch their games from home.

Hagans: It’s tough in the league when you’re on practice squad because you work all week, but you don’t get the opportunity to play on Sunday. So just watching him go through that whole experience, I’ve never seen someone so humble and appreciative of the opportunity to be part of a franchise. To him, even though he might not have ever made plays on Sunday, that he made an NFL team and was on the practice squad was an accomplishment. He came from an HBCU, and people didn’t think he was good enough, thinking his opportunities were granted and not earned. That dude worked his ass off, day and night, to earn everything he had.

Tony Fisher, Rams running back, now Packers player alumni specialist: Denzel would have lunch with us when he came to see John David. We always had an opportunity to just talk with him. He always had his Yankees hat on. He was a normal person, just a normal guy just coming to check in on his son. That was always cool, like if anyone else’s parent was around. He knew everything about players.

Linehan: (Denzel) did show up, very discreet, in the background. He would ask permission to come to practice and I used to think that was kind of funny. We had him there and he was certainly grateful to have that opportunity. We had a great time having him around our team.

Holt: I remember that his parents were Denzel Washington and Pauletta Washington, two really talented actors, both on the movie screen and on Broadway. His mother was very, very good. John David, you heard him say on several occasions how good his mom was. Hearing his story, how he grinded his way through Morehouse, I thought it was inspirational to see him accomplish his dream.

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Hagans: I remember one time, his dad came over to my place. We were just talking, but of course it’s Denzel, so you’re trying your best not to be awestruck. One of the things I never realized that his dad said kind of quietly was, just imagine how hard it is to be his dad. You just want to support him and see him play, and everybody makes a spectacle about Denzel being at the game. It was always important to him for his son to see him on the sidelines at games, that he was there, but once everybody knew he was there, it was more about him than it was J.D. He wanted to watch him but wanted him to have his own space, to be able to create his own name. I’ll never forget that conversation.

To Europe, Sacramento and football obscurity

Between his seasons with the Rams, Washington was allocated to NFL Europe — called NFL Europa in its final season of 2007 — and initially was working with the Hamburg Sea Devils. His only playing time came later in the season with the Rhein Fire in Dusseldorf, Germany, where his total statistics were five carries for 5 yards.

Cody Pickett, Rhein quarterback, now a state champion girls basketball coach in Idaho: He was a good player. I don’t even know how many days into camp, somebody said ‘That’s Denzel Washington’s son,” and I said “No way!” We hung out a couple of nights, had dinner, just a nice, solid guy and you’d never know his dad was larger than life.

Scissum, his coach at Morehouse, was also in the league as an assistant with the Berlin Thunder, a familiar face halfway across the world.

Scissum: I saw J.D. in Europe. The NFL Europa’s training camp was in Tampa, before we flew over to Europe, we had a camp in Tampa and scrimmages against each other. I saw him in the scrimmages but we didn’t get a chance to meet up. Once we flew over to Europe, I had a chance to have dinner with him after one of the games.

After a tryout with the Texans in 2008 didn’t result in a signing, Washington spent four seasons in the upstart United Football League, which had former NFL stars such as Daunte Culpepper and future head coaches such as the Rams’ Sean McVay. Washington played for former Vikings coach Dennis Green with the California Redwoods, who after one year became the Sacramento Mountain Lions.

It was as modest as minor-league football went, with most players making about $35,000 a year, operating out of hotels and playing to sparse crowds, the final season abruptly stopped in the middle. Washington was Sacramento’s leading rusher in 2011, getting 174 yards and a touchdown in four games, and he finished with 495 rushing yards in 22 games.

Josh Johnson, then Sacramento quarterback, still playing in the NFL/XFL: Even before I knew who his dad was, he was a pro. That’s the first thing I remember. He showed up to work every day. Real cool, quiet guy. He wasn’t anti-social or anything but wasn’t always drawing attention to himself. He was more of a scatback, but he was a good player. He’s followed his family business now, and he’s doing good.

Mike Kruczek, then Sacramento offensive coordinator: He was an outstanding football player. Always had a smile on his face, worked extremely hard in practice, took pride in what he did. Just a tremendous person to be around. Very funny. Oh, my gosh. We would be in team stretch, and he would break out into one of his father’s famous lines from a movie and have us howling. He had a tremendous sense of humor. He had it down. You had to do a double-take and turn around when he did it.

Johnson: Even when his dad came to the game, it wasn’t a big hooray-hooplah about it. He was just a dad. That’s what I respected about the situation. I didn’t have a famous dad, didn’t really have my dad around when I was growing up. J.D. came out and performed every week, made it about nothing but football.

McDaniel: A fan walked up and asked for a picture. Denzel, very graciously, said “I’d very much appreciate that, but no pictures right now. This is not about me. This is John David’s time.” For me, that was a little glimpse into these lessons, and instead of getting caught up in the glitz and glamour of fame, fortune and whatnot, John David was that guy. Wow, is it hard to have your priorities straight. I know for me, if I put myself in his shoes, I’d have a lot of crash-and-burns before I’d figure that out. Everyone felt like “Who is this humble guy that is going about his business, doing his own dream, as opposed to getting a free ride on a yacht?” He always pulled his own weight, and it was really cool.

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Kruczek: His father supported him and was at all the games. It didn’t matter where the game was, if it was in Sacramento or New York or Florida, wherever we were playing, he was at the games on the sidelines. I’m sure he’s even more proud, if that’s possible, with the career he’s chosen and the success he’s having now.

Cory Ross, Sacramento running back, played 10 games with Ravens in 2006-07 as a return specialist: One of the things I remembered the most, obviously he had a great admiration for what his dad had done, but I know for sure, when we would talk, how in love and appreciative he was for his mother. That was his A-1, so proud of her and what she sacrificed. Everyone would think it would be “Denzel, Denzel, Denzel,” but that woman was the rock of that house. They all knew it. It was cool how he would tell me more about his mom than his dad. She was just as talented. People didn’t know because she took a back seat.

The second act: A change in scenery

Washington dealt with injuries throughout his playing career, and a torn Achilles tendon, sustained while training for another NFL workout, ultimately ended his football dreams. It also pushed him toward acting and the challenge of following in his father’s path. He landed a role with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on HBO’s “Ballers,” a fictionalized look at current and former NFL players, on and off the field, popular enough to last for five seasons.

McDaniel: He was a wise soul and knew football was a young man’s game: I’m going to do what I can do in my own field, tread my own path, and then move onto the next when that’s done. He’s clearly done an outstanding job with that. Once he retired from football, he used all of his experiences toward that first role. He had more information than other actors, so he could perform to the unbelievably high standard that his dad has set. His teammates and myself were in awe of that: “You don’t have to be busting your ass like this.” In a heartbeat, he’d flip around: “Yes, I do.”

Brown: Football of course is a real situation, but you want your acting to be real. It’s a great combination. You definitely have to have confidence. You really study the art, look at a lot of people who have been great. Of course, to be yourself is utmost. You don’t want to be the second Denzel. It’s a great challenge, but also a great opportunity for him. You have to prove a lot, more than most actors. People look at you in a manner that says “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be on a football field.”

Jay Glazer, a contributor to The Athletic and an NFL Insider on Fox Sports’ “Fox NFL Sunday,” appeared on 15 episodes of “Ballers” and found that Washington’s experiences added authenticity to any football scenes.

Glazer: I loved being around the guy. Just connected with him right out of the gates. He’s a regular dude. For somebody who grew up the way he did, he’s so regular. For me, I’m not an actor, so I go in there and sometimes I’m nervous. Remembering lines is not something I’m used to. I’d ask him little tips, and he’s always there, no matter what. What you really see is he used the same work ethic to play in college and get to the NFL. He reads constantly. His trailer’s right next to mine, and he’s constantly going over lines.

Ricky's gonna do what Ricky's gotta do. #Ballers pic.twitter.com/7sAQy9m8Qa

— Ballers (@BallersHBO) September 9, 2019

If Washington was reluctant to go into acting as a teenager, his interest in football was a way to follow a different path from his parents, but their passion for acting was something he would embrace as well over time.

Harris: His sense of humor stands out to me. His calmness. Such a calm and confident young man. I see him on film now and I’m so proud of him, but not surprised. He’s doing something I didn’t think he ever wanted to do. He had that talent within him, and it’s showing now.

Glazer: He made my workday so much fun. When you have someone laughing at you and with you, it’s so much better. There wasn’t a person on that crew, when “BlacKkKlansman” came out and he crushed it, that wasn’t so excited for him. He’s just real. Those are long days. You do “Fox NFL Sunday,” it’s live, we’re in and out in an hour. Now you’ve got 16-hour shooting days. I’d ask “Is it funnier if I say it this way? What if I say it this way?” It was really cool to have him to bounce stuff off him like that. All the success, he deserves. I’ve been around a lot of people in Hollywood, looking at me like “Who are you?” But this is such a regular, grounded, down-to-earth, grateful dude. That guy grew up Denzel’s son. He doesn’t have to give anybody the time of day. But he was inviting like that, approachable, made me feel so comfortable to be there.

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Brown said he saw parallels between football and acting, in the importance of preparation and practice. Learning a script was like learning a playbook, and hitting a mark and following direction were much the same.

Brown: When you really feel you have the art, that challenge makes it even better for you. You have to be on time, do all the little things right, because people will want to criticize. It was a great challenge for me because football was so dominant in my life, so for me to be on the phone right now, talking about a young man who combines the two, it’s quite interesting.

Hagans: We played UCLA maybe five years ago, and he came to the stadium for walkthrough, talked to my position group. Right when “Ballers” was first starting. He came over, spent 45 minutes talking to the guys. His mom was doing shows off Broadway and we saw one of her shows, got to visit with his family. We’ve watched his brother Malcolm play in basketball games at Penn. J.D.’s almost like a brother to me. He’s always encouraging me. He’s a person you want on your side. He’s an amazing dude. Those Rams teams, it didn’t turn out in the win column, but we made some really good bonds that last a lifetime.

Bruce: He was trained that way, not resting on his laurels. Hard worker. Really not surprised to see where he is today, and happy for him.

Ross: J.D. was an actor. I always thought he was. We’d be in a thud period (non-full-tackling) and he’d get barely touched and he’d flop down. He was the king of the flop. We’d be like ‘You big actor, you!’ and joke with him like that. But this action movie coming out, I’m excited. He’s just getting better and better. The beginning with “Ballers,” it was natural because he was playing a football guy. You see so many characters as a player that he played Ricky so good. I hope to one day get in touch with him again and tell him how proud of him I am. He followed his dreams and he couldn’t get to the NFL, but when he gets into something, he goes a hundred miles an hour.

Hagans: He just wanted to make his own way. That was tough because of who his dad is, his family’s last name, but you won’t find a dude that works harder than J.D. We talked about it a lot when we were playing football, but he wanted to make sure he gave football everything he had before he moved on to the next phase of his life. He exhausted all of his options, to make sure he left nothing on the table for football, and it’s awesome to watch the success he’s having now.

Holt: Being that he was our teammate, we’ll follow each other heavy, support each other. If you played 10 years or three years or one year, there’s a connective energy, and we support each other dearly, whatever avenue we’re going in, good or bad. I watched him in BlacKkKlansman, I watched him on “Ballers.” As many articles and things I can read about him or see him on screen, I’m right there to support him, and I’m so looking forward to supporting him in this new movie as well.

McDaniel: I very much closely follow all his acting stuff, because I’m looking for the scene I can take credit for: That’s Mike McDaniel’s coaching right there! We all do, all his teammates, he has this cult following. I don’t think any of his success is surprising. When you first heard he had a role, after football in acting, you’re like “It’s on. There’s no doubt in my mind this guy’s going to be incredibly successful.” He did not waver. He embraced the journey and the climb.

(Top Photo: Melinda Sue Gordon/Warner Bros.)

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