It's one thing to become a sporting hero when you have the full backing of your home country. Jesse Owens did it at a time when he was barely allowed in some of the buildings in his. The UK trailer for Race, which chronicles part of his story, is now online.
Stephan James stars as James Cleveland Owens, who became a world record holding track and fielder and found friendship and coaching in Larry Snyder (Jason Sudeikis). He eventually gets a shot at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, where Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party intended to use the event as a showcase for his vision of the supremacy of the Aryan race. Opinion was divided over whether Jesse should attend, with some arguing staying away would show support to the people Hitler was oppressing. Others pointed out that it struck a blow for freedom and race if he went. The rest, of course,is athletic history.
With Stephen Hopkins directing a script by Anna Waterhouse and Joe Shrapnel, Race also features Jeremy Irons, William Hurt, Eli Goree, Carice van Houten and Shanice Banton. Race will dash into UK cinemas on June 3.