On December 5, the IndieWire Honors Winter 2024 ceremony will celebrate the creators and stars responsible for crafting some of the year’s best films. Curated and selected by IndieWire’s editorial team, IndieWire Honors is a celebration of the filmmakers, artisans, and performers behind films well worth toasting. We’re showcasing their work with new interviews leading up to the Los Angeles event.
Ahead, the real-life Dr. Judy Robles talks to IndieWire about what it was like for Jennifer Lopez, recipient of the Maverick Award, to play her in the film “Unstoppable.” The film tells the inspirational story of her son Anthony Robles becoming a college wrestling champion, despite being born with a physical disability, and its refreshing effect on his family.
As told to Marcus Jones. The following has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Everybody knows the name Jennifer Lopez because of how successful she’s been, but also because she carries herself with so much grace and strength, regardless of what gets in her way. She epitomizes the word “Maverick,” obviously, but also “Unstoppable,” the film, because there’s just so many things that might get in her way and she refuses to let that stop her. She’s a trailblazer and she continues regardless of what anybody else might say around her. She just knows in her core, there’s just so much confidence that she carries, that she deserves it. She epitomizes that word.
This film has been in the process for years, and she was a name that was thrown out to play me, and I was like, “Yeah, right.” She’s one of those names where, if you do work icebreakers, if you could choose who would play you in a movie. It’s like “Oh, yeah, sure. Her. It would never happen, but her.” But I was very surprised. I didn’t believe it when my son told me she signed on and she was excited about it.
After watching the film and seeing the authenticity that she gave, the strength she gave the role, and just the grace and respect that she gave to me in playing me, there’s nobody else that could have done it to the degree that she did. I am blown away by every detail. You never understand when an actor is portraying somebody, how much work goes into it. But it’s probably doubly hard that I’m sitting there, and I’m me, to try to figure me out, and to portray my character. But she did me amazingly, to the tee. Facial expressions, gestures, movements, everything. It shows the depth, not just of her professionalism, but how she takes things a step further, to make sure that they’re again, authentic.
She’s talented. She could have just read the book. She could have created a character. She could have asked my son a few key points. She could have played this role however she wanted to. But she chose to sit down and talk with me. We met by Zoom for a couple of hours, and then a few times after that, but she was always asking me questions. “What about this? How are you like this?” I remember even on Zoom, she had this huge binder, and she was taking all kinds of notes, everything I would tell her. She flipped the page and she’d write something else. But in those conversations, she wanted to make sure that I felt comfortable in opening myself up to her.
It wasn’t just, “Tell me about this. Tell me about this.” She immediately, and it sounds weird to say, became a very real person. Not the one on the stage or the one in the movies. She became a person to me, and she related to me on that level where I was able to trust her. So I shared with her things that I have never shared with other people; how I felt, what I went through.
It happened to me and it was part of my life, but for me to do my small part in helping this character be very real, because that’s what she wanted and desired, I had to share a lot of things with her that were difficult. But the way that she took it from me was very empathetic and very respectful to me as a person. She said, “If there’s anything here that you don’t want me to share, you don’t want me to use, just let me know.” And I believed her. It wasn’t like she was just saying words. So that allowed me to share more and to let her take everything that I gave her and then create the character, Judy, that she did.
My experience with Jennifer, and her being so real, finally allowed me to see my strength. I know I’ve lived it, I’ve walked it, but when I first saw “Unstoppable,” I was like, “Oh my God, how is this going to come across? Are my friends going to know that this is me?” Right from the beginning, you could get that. But I felt the feelings when she was in this role. I felt everything that I remember feeling, the highs and the lows, and it’s because she put so much care into that.
But I also know the concern that she had to make sure that that was as realistic as possible, was what made this so incredible to me. To watch and go, “Oh, yeah, I did go through all that.” And then to see the strength at the end, the person that I am now, even though they put it up there, the successes. I was able to see it through her eyes, how I am now, and it was because she did such a great job.
I even told her there was sadness in her eyes at points, where I could see it was because I told her I was sad, and she took that. And honestly, I think that if it was only for me that she did that, she would do it again. Because for her, it meant a lot that I cared and that I believed that that was really me. So she’s got a huge heart, and I am glad that I’m one of the few people in this world that really gets to see that side of her.
It’s been an incredible experience sitting next to her. I learned so much from her already, just how she carries herself, but also in hearing how she talks about the role, why it meant so much to her, why she’s on her platform, why she feels that it’s important to share this story with other people. Honestly, it has helped me tremendously, to see how far I’ve come. I’m learning to feel pride in who I’ve become. Early on, I was like, “I don’t deserve all of this.” Everybody’s like, “Good job, Judy.” I’m like, “I don’t deserve it.” And she’s like, “Yes, you do.” I love the honesty and the directness that comes from her,
And I love hearing her share the why. The why was past her just playing a role. Her why was that Anthony’s story is magnificent, everything that he went through. But to put a parent not just in the background, but to shove me, that parent, forward and be like, “No, but you did this too. It wasn’t just him.” And for me, as a parent, I think of all my mistakes, everything I’ve done wrong, everything I could have changed, everything I should have done. But she doesn’t let me think that anymore. It’s an inspiration to me, to hear her say that I inspire her. Like, “What? Who am I?” But again, I know that she’s genuine in her responses. She’s not just saying words.
We’ve done a lot of these Q&As, and at the beginning, I could only look at her and cry because of all she’s done. It’s just a beautiful thing that I have the opportunity to sit next to her and go, “Yes, she played me.” And how genuine she really is. Jennifer is an incredible person and I’m grateful to her.
“Unstoppable,” an Amazon MGM Studios release, will be in select theaters starting December 6, 2024, and arrive on Prime Video on January 16, 2025.
Read Jennifer Lopez’s full IndieWire Honors profile.
