Canadian Stephan James will play Jesse Owens in “Race,” about the sprinter who triumphed in front of Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler at the Berlin 1936 Olympics.
Jason Sudeikis and Jeremy Irons are also in the cast for the Focus Features film, according to reports. Sudeikis will play Owens’ coach, Larry Snyder. Irons will play Avery Brundage, then the president of the U.S. Olympic Committee.
The “Race” news comes seven months after it was reported Disney was working on a separate Owens film based on Jeremy Schaap‘s book, “Triumph.”
Principal photography for “Race,” a Focus Features film, is scheduled to begin July 24 in Montreal and on location at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin.
