It’s not a new story that every successful man, be it a player or a superstar, wants to explore lives on the other side and give other professional careers a try. Let’s go back to a few years from now, when Michael Jordan was spotted starring in Space Jam, followed by Shaquille O’Neal featuring in Kazaam. Following the same trend, two-time NBA top scorer and Oklahoma City Thunder’s ace player, Kevin Durant has given acting a try. But when Durant was asked about his decision to step into the world of movies, he simply said that doing movies have never been his cup of tea, and he never wanted to enter this world. Following the statement, it’s been speculated that it would have been his peer pressure, or his mother’s encouragement that has to be blamed for his changed decision to give acting a try.
The Kevin Durant movie that diverted basketball fan’s concentration from the basketball superstar’s skills on the court is named as “Thunderstruck”. In fact the entire crew of the movie was seen in Oklahoma City shooting a pivotal sequence from the movie at the home arena of OKC Thunder, where there’s a switch in the ace player’s skills with a clumsy teenager, following a defeat of the legendary basketball team, OKC Thunder in the movie. This teenager is none other than Nickelodeon start Taylor Gray.
Both, Kevin Durant and Thunderstruck, have a common thing that bridges each other. It’s nothing but the basketball that connects the real and the reel life. When Kevin was contacted after the shooting got over, he was found to be pretty overwhelmed with his performance during the takes. Although he was found keeping his fingers crossed about the reactions and feedback from critics and general audience, at the same time he was found to be pretty cool with his performance. He further added that even if the movie doesn’t perform well, he won’t be upset because he had fun, enjoyed the time to the fullest, made new friends in the crew, and that’s all what actually counts to him.
Keeping aside all speculations about critics’ ratings, Durant’s acting has already started receiving thumps up from veteran actors and even from the crew of Thunderstruck. In fact Roll Bounce & Tropic Thunder star Brandon Timothy Jackson was amongst the first who came up to appreciate Durant’s acting skills beside his skills on the court. He added, unlike many other basketball players’ attempts to act in the past, Kevin has the same potential in on-screen matters, the same way he has on the court. Jackson was found to get nostalgic about the debut movie. He compared his time, when he was shaky and scared, with the one in Kevin’s case, where he is dynamic and pretty cool during the takes.
When we trace back the footsteps of the making of Thunderstruck, we’d actually find that the mastermind behind this masterpiece script & idea is none other than Durant’s real-life agent, Eric Goodwin. Soon after Goodwin got the idea & found a relevant script, he presented it to the producer, Mike Karz, & the director John Whitesell. It didn’t take them a second to zero in on Kevin Durant to star in the movie. Keeping an eye on his shot commercials and interviews, they immediately opted to sign Durant for the movie. Both, the producer, & the director were found to be pretty sanguine about the commitment the player offers in anything he’s indulged into, be it a real or a reel one.
In fact, it’s the NBA lockout that should be thanked first, because it’s the only reason why Durant was available for more than 12 hours shoot, and that too involving more than 20 takes for some scenes. Finally, when he was asked about any further plans to give acting a thought, he sportingly replied that it was all for him, and now he knows what he wants to do. It’s nothing but to play basketball till he can.
