The underdog mentality has been something that has stuck with Steph Curry forever, and now he’s bringing that sentiment to the world of animation in the new film, GOAT.
The movie, set in an all-animal world, follows a small goat named Will who gets a once-in-a-lifetime chance to join a high-intensity, full-contact sport called roarball — a game dominated by stronger and faster animals. Determined to prove that “smalls can ball,” Will must earn his place among the best.
What part of the film was most personal to Curry?
As a producer on the movie, Curry was motivated to show what happens in the realm of sports, both on and off the court. There were parts of the character — a small goat with big dreams — that align most with his own life journey.
“Broadly, it’s Will’s journey as the underdog, the overlooked, the late bloomer, who has some doubts, but when he’s presented an opportunity, you can see the determination and the will to succeed, even if it’s not on your own timeline,” Curry told Blavity’s Shadow and Act.
“I think that’s been part of my basketball journey from the time I started playing, and even now, it sometimes doesn’t sound right, but I still carry that underdog mentality with me. It’s still part of my DNA,” he continued. “It’s the gas in the tank for why I still love to play at this level, and hopefully there’s some relatability to Will, not just in basketball or sports, but something that anybody can see in terms of that moment of being ready for your opportunity, dreaming big, and fighting for what you feel like you want in life.”
Gabrielle Union relates to her character’s growth
Similarly, Gabrielle Union felt a personal draw to her character Jett Fillmore, a trendsetting leopard who is a celebrated veteran athlete for the Vineland Thorns.
“We’re very similar in many ways, certainly at a different point in my life where [it was] my way or the highway, you know, I hate a group project, like, let me just do it and you guys can add your names later,” said Union. “And over the course of my life, learning how to be a different kind of leader. As I’ve gotten older and I can’t rely on the same things, and I’ve had to evolve, Jett had to evolve, but I sprinkled a lot of people that I’ve met over my life into the character, especially athletes as they’ve gotten to the ends of their careers, and how some of that confidence can be shaken and the vulnerabilities are a little bit more readily seen.”
Caleb McLaughlin finds bravery in his animated counterpart
McLaughlin said he can relate to his GOAT character, Will, in many ways.
As someone who is continuing to soar to new heights in his career, the actor said he’s deeply inspired by the animated goat’s bravery.
“One scene that I think represents him well is when the bear comes in, and he’s in the cage, and he’s practicing his skills, and then he gets snatched out of the air,” McLaughlin recalled. “In my head, I thought Will was gonna show his fear of how big these animals are, and they can beat him up, but he’s just like, ‘Come on, bro, what are you doing? I’m just trying to practice.’ And he fakes a pass, or he fakes like he’s gonna throw it in, and it’s like a Kobe moment where the wind goes by, and he doesn’t flinch.”
He added, “It showed the type of person he is. He’s gonna stand up for himself, and he’s not gonna allow people to deter him from being who he is, and you see that throughout the film, even when he meets Jett, the person that he looks up to the most, where she kind of pushes him away and says, ‘Oh, you’re just a goat.’ He didn’t allow that to dictate his future or his goal. His mentality is something I would love to continue to take and use for the rest of my life.”
A story with inspiration for everyone
Producer Erick Peyton hopes that everyone can walk away inspired by the story told through the characters in GOAT.
“The film really has something for everybody, you know, the starter on the team, the sixth man, maybe the person who doesn’t get any minutes at all,” said Peyton, CEO of Unanimous Media, the multimedia company he co-founded with Curry in 2018 and a producer of the film.
He added, “I think that that’s really what this sports film sort of represents. It’s really about bringing the family together, and hopefully everybody can be inspired through it.”
GOAT is in theaters on Feb. 13.