Why Alexander Ludwig Believes 'National Champions' Will Spark Conversations
The star of ‘The Hunger Games’, ‘Vikings’ and ‘Heels’ sits down with FilmSpeak to discuss his new film, and how his Canadian heritage follows him wherever he goes.
His impressive young filmography is filled with massive blockbusters with some of the biggest stars out there. He’s been a larger than life presence ever since one of his breakthrough role of the career tribute and trained killer ‘Cato’ in ‘The Hunger Games’. Ever since, Alexander Ludwig and his imposing frame have created such characters as ‘Bjorn Ragnerson’ on the massively successful ‘Vikings’ and recently as ‘Ace Spade’, one of the battling brothers on ‘Heels’, just renewed for its second season. Now, Ludwig engages in another brotherly battle, teaming up with fellow Canadian actor Stephan James and an all star cast in ‘National Champions’, a small film with big ambition.
National Champions follows Lamarcus James (played by James) a star college quarterback who ignites a players strike hours before the biggest game of the year in order to fight for fair compensation, equality and respect for the student-athletes. Ludwig is the Sundance to James’ Butch Cassidy, as Emmet Sunday, a Senior who’s finished his football career, accepting that he will never make it to the big show of the NFL. The two rally support and fight the multi-billion dollar institutions of college sports in a David and Goliath battle for the future and safety of college athletes. Ludwig, still a young man, is a 14-year veteran of the big screen, but says he has been waiting for a project that resonates like National Champions does; “I've never been a part of something that that is topical right now. That's what really hooked me in right away, because I'd already been talking to friends about this this world. I've already asked [these] questions before this even came my way. And to be a part of it is really special.” Ludwig goes on to add that the film is extremely topical, perhaps more than anything else he’s done. “I've never done a film where the conversations being had now, there's definitely like a pressure, but it's also kind of a very fulfilling one.”
“I’ve never done a film where the conversations being had now, there’s definitely like a pressure, but it’s also kind of a very fulfilling one.””
The smart and simple script of writer Adam Mervis delivers a well balanced and well-rounded perspective on this very important topic. Ludwig believes the success of the script is because it “tells the story from every point of view. You hear the NCAA voice, [and] you hear the collegiate athletes voice.” Ludwig takes a stance on the topic very similar to his character. The Canadian roots of the actor seems to have influenced his sense of community and need to care for each other. (Granted that’s not a uniquely Canadian characteristic, but we Canadians certainly seem to fight against socialized health care and that sense of community less than our American neighbors) Ludwig passionately dictates his view: ”any line of work where where someone's life, or body or mind is put on the line, they deserve to be taken care of, period. These guys have put their bodies on the line so that other people can make money. They deserve to be taken care of after their job is done. And I mean, that same sentiment, I think, can be heard in so many different things. Whether we're talking about veterans, or we're talking about sports, or we're talking about our healthcare workers, it's like, take care of the people who built this thing.”
Ludwig (left), and James in National Champions
That sense of community and teamwork seems like a message that the entire cast got behind. As mentioned, the film itself may feel small, but the message is massive, the message is important, and the impact of this film can seemingly be just as important. Any one who views this film, and the stellar cast of J.K. Simmons, Kristin Chenoweth, Timothy Olyphant, Jeffrey Donovan, Lil Rey Howery, and Tim Blake Nelson know that all these award winners were not in this film for the paycheque; that they too, must have believed in the message. While some young stars, with or without Ludwig’s filmography could be intimidated working side by side with Simmons or Olyphant, Ludwig’s grounded and hopeful performance of Sunday meshes so well with others, again, reiterating that amazing sense of teamwork the cast had. Ludwig no stranger to extreme sports, likens the rush of acting with massive stars to simply doing your job. “I refuse to let myself feel ‘less than’ because for so long in this industry, you feel that way. It's like, you finally set your foot in the ground and [say] ‘I'm staking my claim'. ‘I've earned this route just like you have, and we're here to do a good job.’”
It should be added, the cast and crew of the film did not just do a good job… but an exceptional one. National Champions is a film that many will miss, but all should absolutely see. It is a testament to quality over quantity filmmaking, with a team that all got behind the importance of the message of the film and trusted the script of Mervis and the leadership of director Ric Roman Waugh.
National Champions hit theatres December 10th.
You can watch the full interview, BELOW:
