Those who are considered to be esteemed veterans in their respective careers by their admirers, who wish to emulate their accomplishments, often provide profound contributions to their line of work. That’s certainly the case with not only Golden Globe Award-nominated actor Aaron Eckhart, but also Darrell Royal, the former head football coach at the University of Texas (UT) at Austin. The performer did such extensive research into what the iconic coach meant to the city, UT football and his players that Royals’ family, players, fans and movie audiences in general will surely appreciate his powerful portrayal of the three national championship winner on screen. Eckhart stars as Royal in the upcoming biographical drama, ‘My All American,’ which was written and directed by acclaimed sports filmmaker, Angelo Pizzo, and opens in theaters on Friday.
‘My All American’ follows determined athlete Freddie Steinmark (Finn Wittrock), who’s diminutive in size and stature. Supported and driven by his father, Fred (Michael Reilly Burke), Freddie’s discipline towards his athletic pursuits is only surpassed by his desire to win. That spirit serves helps make him a three-letter jock at Wheat Ridge High School in suburban Denver. It also catches the eye of his classmate Linda Wheeler (Sarah Bolger), who he pursues to become his girlfriend with the same focus he exhibits during any given game.
With his sights on a career in football, Freddie becomes disappointed when coaches from Division I colleges are unable to see past his build. But his high school coach helps him by sending the UT Austin coaching staff some footage of his playing. The coaches at the college ultimately decide to ask him to visit the school with his friend and teammate, Bobby Mitchell (Rett Terrell), who’s initially considered a better prospect, for a meeting with the legendary Longhorn coach Darrell Royal (Eckhart).
Seeing both students’ potential, Coach Royal offers them both a spot on the team. Linda gets accepted to UT as well, and the three studnets head to Austin. But the boys’ early days of football training turn out to be brutal. Freddie is once again forced to prove his abilities against larger, stronger athletes. Along the way, he strikes up a friendship with third string quarterback James Street (Juston Street), and the two, along with Bobby, work their hardest to endure the grueling practice schedule and survive the cuts.
Their camaraderie off the field results in them rising up the depth charts, and giving the Longhorns a real chance to turn their season around. By Freddie’s junior year, the team has become so esteemed that it plays in the celebrated NCAA conference championship game at Fayetteville, Arkansas. But just when the team is reveling in the success of the season, Freddie suffers an injury that leads to a shocking diagnosis and the biggest challenge he will ever face.
Eckhart generously took the time recently to sit down for a roundtable interview at The Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City to talk about starring in ‘My All American.’ Among other things, the actor discussed how he was drawn to play Coach Royal in the biographical drama because he wants to make more family-friend films that parents and children can learn from and relate to, and he also feels that Pizzo knows how to make sports movies exceptionally well; how he relied on the filmmaker’s script and his discussions from the people who knew Coach Royal, including his wife and former plays, to help form his portrayal of the character in the film; and how the coach was protective and fond of Steinmark, as the player reminded the coach a bit of himself in the way they played.
Question (Q): What was the process of putting on the make-up for the flashforward scenes where Darrell Royal is talking about coaching Freddie?
Aaron Eckhart (AE): The make-up department was so masterful. They made an entire cast of my head, which took several hours. But when they put all the make-up on after that, I believed I was an old man. The cast moved with my face, and let me know what I was going to look like when I’m an old man. It shows where the wrinkles would be, as they determined what my face will really look like when I get older through the technology.
Q: What was the appeal to play Darrell in the film?
AE: I’ve done a lot of movies that aren’t always family fare. So as I get older, I feel like I want to make movies that the whole family can see and appreciate, because there’s a message to them. I want to be in films that are inspirational, and that kids and parents can learn something from them. Obviously, Angelo’s an expert at these types of films. I also loved this story, and was touched when I read it. I also love football, so it was a no-brainer in that respect.
Q: The coach looked at Freddie during several games at the end of the season, and didn’t want to take him out, even though his knee was in pain. Was there any questioning for yourself as you were playing the coach about whether he should have taken Freddie out?
AE: I think they had a different mentality in football back then. The players used to tell stories about their practices, and how they were intense. The coach probably had his regrets, but I don’t think they realized it could be cancer at first. I think he developed bone cancer so young and out of the blue.
We hear stories in sports, especially with all the concussion protocols that are in place now, that the players are lying to their coaches. They don’t talk about their pain because they don’t want to be taken out of the game. I think football was a tough game when Freddie was playing, but the guys knew what they were signing up for.
I don’t the coach was wholeheartedly loved by his players. There was a book that was written about him that describes how unfair he was. There was a lot of criticism about him. It’s called ‘Meat on the Hoof: The Hidden World of Texas Football,’ and it details how tough the coach was. That’s something that the movie obviously doesn’t address, because again, it’s Freddie’s story.
Q: What was the toughest part about playing the role?
AE: Well, I’m a sports fan, and I believe that sports reveal who we are. Each practice and game is a microcosm of life. In every game you can be on the highest high and lowest low. That’s why I wanted to be in the movie, because I believe a lot of this stuff-looking our for your family, working hard and giving it your all. I believe the coaches are here to push us further than we believe we can be pushed.
I don’t think it’s exclusive to sports; I think that also applies to business. I think it also applies to the movie business. I would love for a director to see something in me, and push me to places where I was just saying, I can’t go there anymore. I don’t think that happens enough.
Q: How did the fact that Coach Royal is telling the story and serves as the film’s narrator affect the way you viewed him as an actor?
AE: Well, that certainly put a lot of pressure on me. A lot of the story is told through his eyes. I had a lot of pressure just playing Coach Royal. I’m not from Texas, so to understand their mentality, and what football means to them, was difficult. To also have Edith, his wife, and his former players there, also put pressure on me. Everyone was looking at me and thinking, what the hell are you doing in this movie? I said, “I don’t know, but I’m going to do my best.” This guy’s a legend and an icon, so playing him was intimidating. I expected the players who were in the movie to respect me as much as Coach Royal was respected by his players, and I think they did.
Q: While watching the movie, it seems like all the actors were really connected to their characters, especially the players. Did that help you in connecting with the coach?
AE: Well, Finn really bonded with the other actors who played the players, and they supported him. It was a real team. They ate together and appreciated each other’s humor. Justin Street, who plays his father, UT Quarterback James Street, was really invested in the movie.
But I made the decision not to go out and bond with them, because I was playing their characters’ coach. Royal wasn’t their friend; he was their coach. Some of the players said three words to the coach during the four years they played for him. That’s the role of the coach. The coach is like a CEO; he doesn’t have a personal relationship with his players. That’s what I learned; I thought the coaches knew everything about their players’ lives, but it’s not true. It’s the position coaches that are doing all that. So I tried to be the biggest hard-ass. (laughs)
But I saw how these guys rallied around each other. Everyone had Finn’s back, especially since he’s not a football player. No matter how many times Finn and I went out for a pass, we couldn’t do what the players on the team could do. But when Finn went into the game, everyone respected him. That’s why you see what you see in the film.
Q: While you were doing your research for the film, you must have received information about Coach Royal from sources that were twice or three times removed. What was your process of determining what information was real?
AE: Well, like anyone working on any character, you have to really work to find the truth. The players are all human beings, and some had a reverence for the coach. But he was just a man, so he did have flaws. While I received that second-hand information about him, I also listened to (recordings of) him incessantly, read what he wrote and also spoke to his wife. I also spoke to his players, and tried to get them to tell me anything they could about the coach, like how he ran the sidelines.
But this movie isn’t about my character, so I only had a certain amount of time on screen to convey everything that I needed to convey. I also had the wonderful script, so I had to work with its confines. So by the time you’re done with all of that stuff, you could only do what you could do. You have to ask yourself, what’s the most important characteristic that I have to represent? That’s what I tried to do, but I’m sure people are still going to want to kill me for many things I did in the movie. But you can only do what you can do, and I feel like I did exhaustive research on who he was.
Q: You mentioned earlier that Coach Royal didn’t have a personal relationship with most of his players. But during his narration in the film, he mentioned that Freddie was his favorite player. What was the process of showing their bond?
AE: Well, Freddie was undersized to be a football player. He was also from out of state. I think he was the first person to be recruited into Texas football from out of state, so that was a big deal. Why did Coach recruit him? Freddie reminded him a bit of himself. Coach was undersized, but was also a big player and had a lot of heart and was tough. Also, there’s the humility factor; Freddie was very humble, and wasn’t a show-off. He worked hard all the time, and Coach appreciated that.
Coach may not have been close to his players during their tenure on the team. But he took care of them after they left the team. They always had a place at UT and in Austin. He also took care of their families. But on the field, they were under so much pressure. The coach was dealing with the team’s boosters, millions of dollars that was raised for the team and the pressures of winning and losing.
I had breakfast with Mack Brown (who was the head football coach of the Longhorns at UT between 1998 and 2013). He said he didn’t have enough time with his players because of all the bureaucracy he had to do as the coach.
So I think Coach Royal found a friend in Freddie. The coach had children of his own, and some of them were troubled. So he went through a lot of loss with his own children. So he had a heart, but he had also gotten hurt. Maybe that’s why he didn’t get really close to his players.
Photo Credit: Clarius Entertainment
Written by: Karen Benardello