Khris Davis, best known for his roles in Judas and the Black Messiah and Space Jam: A New Legacy, spoke with The Big Tigger Morning Show about his involvement in the project. Khris admits, "It was a huge responsibility to be taking on the task of trying to emulate some specific details about him because everybody knows George Foreman. Either you know the fighter, or you know the grill guy. But everybody knows him so well... you know you think it's easy to mess up. So, when I got the role it was about being intentional and specific about telling his legacy and doing it justice."
Preparing for the role, Khris says he "spent three days with George in Houston... I'm sitting across from him and all I can do is stare at him." After letting George talk for a bit, he realized he needed to ask the man some questions. "All I wanted todo was give him deference because this is George Foreman. I never thought I'd be sitting across from such an icon, you know what I mean?"
While the life of George Foreman is bookended by his career in the ring, Khris says he wanted to show more than just the destruction he brought to the sport. "The thing is, he did destroy people in the ring, and that's what he wanted to do," Khris explains. "But what I also wanted to do with this film, was to do his boxing career justice by showing the intellectual side of his abilities. Because George was an intellectual fighter, he was a smart fighter, and people don't understand that about him. So, when you watch some of his old fights, you can see just how much of a technician he was."
Listen to the conversation with Khris above, and check out Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World in theaters this week.
Words by Joe Cingrana Interview by The Big Tigger Morning Show




