By Michaela Gordoni
The new JIMMY biopic sheds a light on Jimmy Stewart’s whole life — not just as an actor but also as a veteran.
The biopic stars K.J. Apa as Stewart, Rob Riggle as Colonel Terrill, Jen Lilley as Stewart’s wife, Gloria, and Max Casella as Frank Capra.
The synopsis reads, “JIMMY, the untold true story of America’s most-beloved actor and the iconic role that saved him, focuses on the most transformative season in Jimmy Stewart’s life—from winning the Academy Award® for Best Actor in The Philadelphia Story to enlisting and becoming a combat pilot in the U.S. Army Air Corps at the beginning of World War II. He flew twenty missions over Europe, rising to the rank of colonel by the end of the war, only to return home broken and disheartened. Then George Bailey and IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE came calling….”
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“Because of where his heart is, and who he is as a man, he decides toto go and fight for his country,” Apa said on the TODAY show. “And how could you not, you know, be inspired by that in itself.”
Other actors and cast on the show also find his story inspiring, including Riggle and Neal McDonough, who stars as Stewart’s father in the movie.
“I think telling these stories is just important for people to remember and honor [music] those people who sacrificed, you know, at great great danger [music] and risk,” said Riggle, who served 23 years in the Marine Corps.
“I have always been a huge James Stewart fan and feel so honored I get to bring his story to life,” Apa said in another interview. “As someone from New Zealand, I’ve long admired that generation of American men who stood for patriotism, integrity, and a deep sense of duty.”
The company behind the movie, Burns & Co., has partnered with a nonprofit to give veterans, service members and Gold Star families the opportunity to see JIMMY for free. The company is currently accepting donations toward that goal.
Producer and director Aaron Burns said of Stewart’s story, “I want my kids to be able to know the hero that Jimmy Stewart was and to see what he went through, the sacrifice he made for us, and to see what the powerful prayers and love of a father for their son — the impact that that can make, so that’s a story that we’re helping to tell.”
The movie will come to theaters on Nov. 6, 2026.
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