Stephan James stars as Jesse Owens in the biopic, "Race," from Forecast Pictures and ID+, with Focus Features, the film’s distributor, set to release the film on February 19, 2016.

The up-and-comer is a Canadian film and television actor, whose past notable roles include Julian Williams in "Degrassi: The Next Generation," and Everton St. Clair in Sudz Sutherland’s feature film "Home Again," for which he received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the 1st Canadian Screen Awards.

He also appeared in Ava DuVernay’s "Selma," and Clement Virgo’s "The Book of Negroes."

Starring as Jesse Owens should only further raise his industry profile, leading to even more work.

"Race" co-stars William Hurt, Jeremy Irons, Jason Sudeikis and Carice van Houten.

"Race" is directed by Stephen Hopkins ("The Life and Death of Peter Sellers"), from a script penned by Anna Waterhouse and Joe Shrapnel.

Germany’s SquareOne and Canada’s Entertainment One (eOne) are co-producers, with Focus Features releasing the film Stateside.

The project will… focus on how Owens, the son of an Alabama sharecropper, shattered Adolf Hitler’s myth of Aryan supremacy at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by winning a record four gold medals in the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash, the long jump and the 400-meter relay. Owens’ victories are considered among the greatest atlhetic feats of all time.

It’s a film that has the backing of the Jesse Owens Foundation, and the Jesse Owens Trust.

Could this do for Stephan James’ career what "42" did for an also then relatively unknown Chadwick Boseman?

Below is the film’s first poster, followed by the full trailer: