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By India McCarty
The stars of THE SENIOR, an inspiring true story coming to theaters soon, are opening up about the movie’s “worthy and wonderful” message.
“It’s a great story, and that’s all we look for as actors and directors and storytellers,” Michael Chiklis, who plays Mike Flynt, told Movieguide®. “You’re looking for compelling stories that people can relate to and that have some value.”
He added, “The older I get it matters a whole lot to me that you move people, that you make them think about their own lives [with your projects].”
“Mike’s story — to have a guy, at 59 years old, look at his life and decide, ‘Hey, I can’t change the past, but I can change the meaning of the past and turn it into a valuable future,’ is beautiful and worthy and wonderful,” Chiklis concluded.
Mary Stuart Masterson, who plays Mike’s wife Eileen, said, “The story is an amazing story — and the fact that it’s true!”
THE SENIOR tells the true story of Mike Flynt, the oldest college football linebacker to ever play in NCAA history.
“At 59, Mike Flynt may be too old to be on a college football field, but not too old to feel the weight of unfinished business,” an official synopsis from Angel Studios reads. “After nearly four decades, he returns to his alma mater to take the hit that changed everything. Bruised, doubted, and nearly broken, he pushes for one more game, not for glory, but for the teammates he lost, the family he fractured, and the ending he still believes is possible.”
The real-life Flynt was there for every step of the movie’s production.
“I love the movie, every part of it,” he told Movieguide®. “And I certainly hope people go and see it.”
Chiklis told KEPR that having Flynt onset was “daunting” and “difficult at first, but then he made me feel really at ease. His wife is lovely. They were really supportive, and they weren’t obtrusive, so that was huge.”
The actor shared that he had also been an athlete and “love[s] competitive sports.” He also resonated with the message of Flynt’s story: making sure not to leave regrets unresolved.
“Listen, I think anybody who’s ever played a sport, male or female, I don’t care what competitive sport it is, we all wake up and look at the ceiling and think about that moment, the thing, the regrets you have, and the things that you wish you had done differently, and that little triumphs too,” he explained.
THE SENIOR is in theaters now!
Read Next: Watch this EXCLUSIVE CLIP From THE SENIOR!
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