Anthony Robles was always told what he couldn’t do as a kid because he was born without a right leg, but that never stopped him from achieving his ultimate sports dream.
Despite all of the success on the mat, he got very little interest from the best wrestling programs in the country because they focused on what he didn’t have. The Arizona native only received significant interest from Division II and Division III programs.
Robles bet on himself and walked-on to the Arizona State wrestling team, where he authored one of the most remarkable sports stories in recent memory: He went 36-0 as a senior and won the national championship in the 125-pound division in 2011.
The three-time Pac-10 champion’s life story is the basis of a new movie “Unstoppable” produced by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s company and dropped on Prime Video on this week.
Jennifer Lopez stars as Robles’ mother Judy, Don Cheadle plays Arizona State wrestling head coach Shawn Charles and Emmy winner Jharrel Jerome headlines the movie as Robles.
“It still blows my mind and it’s an honor,” said Robles, who was also a producer on the movie. “What’s most amazing is that it’s an all-star cast, but they cared so much about telling my story in an authentic way. That really meant a lot to me and my family and I could not be prouder.”
All of the wrestling scenes in the movie feature Division I wrestlers and Robles was the body double for Jerome, which meant he had the opportunity to get back on the mat for the first time since winning the national championship in 2011.
“I was so excited, I got something to train for again. I took it 100% seriously like I was competing. I dropped about 10 pounds and I got into cardio and conditioning shape,” said Robles. “It was so much fun to create the wrestling choreography with Jharrel. What you’re seeing is wrestling at 100% intensity. We went out there full blast and called it a violent dance.”
Cheadle, who has been in other sports movies like “Space Jam: A New Legacy” and “Rebound: The Legend of Earl ‘The Goat’ Manigault,” was blown away by the two sides of Robles.
“Anthony is great. He’s one of the more humble and generous people that you might meet,” Cheadle told Page Six.
“He was Jharrel’s stunt double and body double for the movie, so he was there on set every day. And you forget that Anthony has one leg, and you’re not thinking about that when you’re talking to this very centered, very generous, very soft-spoken man that then when you see him on that mat, you’re like, ‘Oh my God,’ so it’s the duality of who he is, the totality of who he is, is very inspiring.”
Robles is an inspiration to many, but he says his biggest inspiration is his mother and that’s one of the many reasons why it was so incredible to watch an actor like Lopez bring Judy to life on the big screen.
“That was extremely special because everyone knows who Jennifer Lopez is. Jennifer really cared about telling my mom’s story in an authentic way and getting those little details down,” said Robles. “She spent so much time with my mom to get to know her and her mannerisms and asked me about my mom. I remember being on set and I watched someone walk by and I thought it was my mom and it was Jennifer wearing my mom’s wrestling gear.”
“Unstoppable” was directed by first-timer William Goldenberg, who is also an Oscar-winning film editor.
The high point and most emotional part of the film is the scene in which Robles wins the national championship in front of a packed house.
“There were 20,000 people in that arena and I was terrified. I was so scared of running down that carpet,” Robles said. “I just remember when I got down on that final platform on that final mat, my eyes were darting all over the place and what calmed me down was looking up in the crowd and just focusing on my mom, my siblings, and my high school coach. That’s what got me through that match.”
Today, Robles is a high school wrestling coach for boys and girls in Arizona and his 2-year-old son Abel is already showing prowess on the mat like his dad after getting a throwing dummy for Christmas. He hopes that the movie about his incredible life can be an inspiration for anyone going through a tough time.
“I want people to walk away thinking I can be unstoppable,” Robles said. “That word applies to everyone if they have the courage to grasp it. You’re going to wrestle something in life. It can be physical or mental because life is a challenge and it’s all about what you focus on. Are you focused on what you don’t have or can’t do or are you focused on your opportunities, blessings, and strengths. If you can focus on that, you can be unstoppable.”
