- Details
- By Levi Rickert
Pictureworks Entertainment is looking for the actor play iconic Olymypian Jim Thorpe in the upcoming feature film Thorpe. Director Tracey Deer, who was selected late last month to direct the film, and Rene Haynes, casting director, made the announcement in a press release last night.
Thorpe is an inspiring sports drama about the Indigenous multi-sport athlete Jim Thorpe. Aided by the legendary coach, Pop Warner, Jim attempts to overcome the devastation of the Native American boarding school system to achieve Olympic glory at Stockholm in 1912 and fulfill the words of his father to “show the world what an Indian can do.”
“My goal for Thorpe is to create a film that offers hope and inspiration, in spite of so much darkness, to show what is possible when you dare to dream. This is the gift of Jim’s legacy to us all,” Deer said.
Rene Haynes (Prey, The Revenant, The New World, and the upcoming Killers of the Flower Moon) is recognized internationally, as one of the foremost experts in Native American/First Nations/Indigenous casting.
“This casting call for an actor to play Jim Thorpe is a unique opportunity for a young actor to make a profound impact on screen because the story is so powerful and has to potential to inspire generations of Native American youth to excel in sports and other aspects of life,” Producer Nedra Darling (Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation) said.
The press release casting calling read “ROLE: JIM THORPE, male, to play age 22-25. The acclaimed Sac and Fox and Potawatomi athlete as a young man
(circa.1910 – 1913).”
“We are very much looking forward to finding the right young Native man to step into Jim’s giant shoes. We invite every tribe in the U.S. and Canada to encourage their young people to audition,” Producer Chris Taylor, Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana said.
For information on how to submit an audition, CLICK.
More Stories Like This
‘Take this and carry it to the top of the world’ | Lakota Man Becomes the First Native American to Summit Mt. EverestWATCH: Native Bidaské with MSNBC Contributor Alyssa London as She Discusses The Culture Is: Indigenous Women
Here’s What’s Going on in Indian Country, June 01—10
Long Awaited “Killers of the Flower Moon” about 1920 Osage Murders Receives a Nine- Minute Standing Ovation at Cannes Film Festival
First Nations Singer’s New Album A ‘Stamp in Time’ and ‘Act of Resistance’
Native News is free to read.
We hope you enjoyed the story you've just read. For the past dozen years, we’ve covered the most important news stories that are usually overlooked by other media. From the protests at Standing Rock and the rise of the American Indian Movement (AIM), to the ongoing epidemic of Murdered and Missing Indigenous People (MMIP) and the past-due reckoning related to assimilation, cultural genocide and Indian Boarding Schools.
Our news is free for everyone to read, but it is not free to produce. That’s why we’re asking you to make a donation to help support our efforts. Any contribution — big or small — helps. Most readers donate between $10 and $25 to help us cover the costs of salaries, travel and maintaining our digital platforms. If you’re in a position to do so, we ask you to consider making a recurring donation of $12 per month to join the Founder's Circle. All donations help us remain a force for change in Indian Country and tell the stories that are so often ignored, erased or overlooked.
Donate to Native News Online today and support independent Indigenous journalism. Thank you.
