(CNN) — To quote one of my favorite DJ Khaled songs, “All I do is win, win, win no matter what.”
In all honesty, I don’t stay winning. I have, however, been on a pretty good streak lately, like when I recently had the opportunity to speak with one of the legendary heavyweight champions of the world.
Depending upon your age, you either know George Foreman for his prowess in the boxing ring or his famed kitchen grills.
Either way, the now 74-year-old Olympic gold medalist and two-time world heavyweight champion is sharing more about his life in the new biopic, “Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World.”
The film details how Foreman rose from poverty to become a superstar boxer — a rival to Muhammad Ali — as well as a minister and an entrepreneur, and later in life, how he made his return to the ring when many didn’t think he had it in him.
Foreman told me he wasn’t always comfortable with the idea of seeing his life play out on the big screen.
“You go through life building a big fence, bricks and everything to cover up your life, to hide your life,” he said. “Then all of a sudden, you got to reveal all those things you’re trying to hide. It’s not easy to tell a story about your life when you really spend a lifetime hiding your life.”
Seeing his struggles growing up poor on-screen moved him to tears, Foreman told me. He shared some regrets amid his reflections, citing the animosity he once felt toward Ali, whom, he said, was interested in becoming friends with long before Foreman could bring himself to end their competitive feud.
Foreman hopes audiences will find inspiration in his personal journey of growth and resilience, he said.
“The world needs to know it’s never over,” Foreman explained. “There’s always a chance to live again.”
Actor Khris Davis, who portrays Foreman as an adult in the film, told me the role was “one you dream about because you get to flex so many different facets of your capabilities. Your body, your mind, your spirit all get to play a role.”
“To be able to jump timelines, to be able to age up, or age down, it’s one of the great challenges of acting, to be able to stretch your body thin and wide and long and short, to take physical contact and to give it,” he said. “If you ever have the opportunity and the privilege to do it, it is something you’ll never forget. So I’m incredibly grateful as an actor that I had the opportunity to do so.”
“Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World” is in theaters April 28.
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