For Him star Tyriq Withers, the movie not only afforded him the opportunity to take on a role that was both physically and emotionally demanding. It was a way for him to explore the experience of grief in various forms.
Playing Cameron “Cam” Cade in Justin Tipping’s movie, Withers’ character is a football prodigy who is following in the footsteps of his late father. Cam is attacked and suffers a brain injury that could end his career, but he gets the chance to train with one of his idols, Isaiah White (Marlon Wayans), in a weeklong, intense boot camp. And in the midst of this training, Cam realizes that something odd and dark is happening behind the scenes.
Him (available to buy or rent on digital, 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD) ends in a showdown between Isaiah and Cam, to determine who is the ultimate GOAT, but Cam ultimately sees the troubling and insidious business of the sport, as well as the exploitation of players’ bodies.
‘It’s cathartic for me to play this character’
The film’s profound exploration of grief encompasses the experience of grieving for the career and life that could have been, the one you imagined for yourself. Withers has a personal connection to that element of the story, being an ex-football player himself.
“This is a story about literally just grief, where he lost his dad, but also he lost who he used to be. And, Isaiah White’s grieving the player that he once was. And I think that’s what a lot of athletes go through, is, … ‘Once I retire, who am I?’ … There’s this line where it’s like, being great is surviving the depth of who I once used to be, and that’s a form of grief,” Withers told Yahoo Canada. “And I think that’s why it’s cathartic for me to play this character, because I’ve been grieving my former self, my former athletic self, where I’m getting to that age where football is no more, and I can’t just go play football.”
“It isn’t dramatic to say you’re grieving your former self, because it is grief. It’s just a different aspect of it. And I think as we acknowledge that we can continue to help each other out and feel more seen, and cope with that. Because I’m still grieving my former athletic self. Because how do you deal with your emotions? And I took my emotions out on the field, and now I have to talk about my emotions, and I’m 27, still dealing with the ‘What if.’ … That’s what I love about this movie.”
Tyriq Withers in Him (Universal Pictures)
‘One of my first opportunities to prove that I am a river of emotions’
Easily one of the most moving scenes in Him is a monologue that Withers delivers, where Cam is incredibly vulnerable about how he’s grieving. Withers and Tipping connected filming Him on their own personal experiences with loss: Tipping with the loss of his father, and Withers with the death of his brother.
“That one was a journey. Because on paper, it doesn’t read [with such] emotion, but on the day, Justin was like, ‘I want you to go there,'” Withers shared. It was something that I want to tap more into, because it was an exploration of my own grief, my own trauma, and getting to share that experience with Justin Tipping where we did the first couple of takes, and I never forced emotion. … If it’s not there, it’s not there, and you get what you get.”
“[Justin Tipping] lost his dad, and he talked about his last conversation with his dad, and he was like, ‘What was the last conversation you had with your brother?’ And then that’s where I went for that place where, emotionally, it’s not acting anymore, it’s being a vessel of your own grief. And I think that’s one of the most profound things about being an actor, where I get to just express how I truly feel. And no matter when you look at me, no matter if I’m smiling, laughing, crying, no emotion, there’s grief that I’m holding. … And I was proud of myself, because I didn’t know that I could do [that scene]. And I think it’s a message to all athletes, all Black athletes, anyone who doesn’t feel like they can show emotion, that it is OK to cry. And it is a reminder that we are human at the end of the day.”
But to effectively explore that vulnerability, Tipping’s set felt like an effective and safe space for Withers to truly be vulnerable in crafting that emotional moment.
“Being involved with these filmmakers, they create a safe space for you to go there,” Withers said. “And I particularly kind of learn to, no matter what I’m feeling, I just use it. And I think the level of training and the level of preparation I used to get to this point of filming, … there’s so much weighing on who I was as a person, as Tyriq, that I just channelled that into Cameron Cade.”
“And having a director to walk you through things safely, or having a village around you off set was important, because it is heavy content, to sit in the psychological, emotional, physical attributes of who Cameron Cade was and what he was witnessing. … It was one of my first opportunities to prove that I am a river of emotions, and that’s the content I want to live in and share that with the world.”
As we now wait to see Withers in his next role in the movie Reminders of Him, based on the Colleen Hoover book, he’s certainly an exciting acting talent to continue to watch.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source uk.news.yahoo.com ’
