The Rush: Football, fun and superpowers with Kurt Warner and Zachary Levi
Pro Football Hall of Famer Kurt Warner and actor Zachary Levi are on The Rush chatting with Jared about their upcoming film “American Underdog,” the challenges of collaborating to play the role of a living person, the toughest jobs they’ve ever worked and their predictions for the L.A. Rams this season. You can watch “American Underdog” in theaters on Christmas Day, but in the meantime, check out the film’s official trailer here!
Video Transcript
JARED QUAY: Which character is more powerful in their uniform? Shazam or Kurt Warner?
ZACHARY LEVI: Well, look, I have to say Kurt Warner, obviously. But if we're being realists, Shazam, I don't know what to tell you. I. Mean, unless Kurt has somehow learned how to fly and shoot lightning beams out of his fingertips.
KURT WARNER: I have those skills, I just-- that's for the second--
ZACHARY LEVI: You're just being humble about it.
KURT WARNER: --the second movie. I didn't want to have to show those things off make you feel bad that, you know, he's a little more powerful than Shazam.
ZACHARY LEVI: This is the humility of Kurt Warner, everybody. He doesn't even like flexing on you with his superpowers. He could have used them in the NFL. But he didn't, he said no. I'm going to let that second Super Bowl go. Let Ben have that one, that's fine.
JARED QUAY: What's up, everybody. I'm here with NFL Hall of Famer, Kurt Warner, and actor, Zachary Levi, who plays Kurt in the biopic of "American Underdog," which comes out on Christmas Day. How are you guys doing today?
ZACHARY LEVI: Excellent. Feeling fantastic. Very excited for this movie to come out.
KURT WARNER: I agree. Life is getting busy, but it's a good kind of busy, and we're excited to share the story with everybody.
JARED QUAY: So the official film trailer comes out today.
- Football.
- Yeah, it didn't pick me.
- I pick you.
- [INAUDIBLE] the perfect guy here. He was bagging groceries five years ago.
JARED QUAY: So Kurt, what's it like to see yourself being played by Zachary on screen?
KURT WARNER: It's weird. It's weird to know that your stories out there, and then to kind of see it told, you know, through somebody else is really surreal.
JARED QUAY: Did you get to micro-manage? Was there anything like, hey, Zach, I wouldn't do that, man. You know, did you let him make some choices for himself?
KURT WARNER: I mean, he did an unbelievable job. But yeah, I mean, it's very difficult to let go of your story and let go of yourself. And so yeah, there was times that I hit Zack up like, hey, Zach, I might have done it like this or I might have done it like that. And he always kind of had to be like, OK, just slow your roll a little bit here. I'm not trying to be you, I'm just playing you in a movie. And so I'm trying to get the essence of who you are, but I'm not going to say every word like you say it. I'm not going to have every mannerism that you have. And that was, you know, they did a great job of sharing that with us.
- Like a circus.
- People love the circus.
- I like the circus.
JARED QUAY: That's a good segue because that's my next question. How was it for you to do you when actually playing a real person that you get to talk to?
ZACHARY LEVI: Kurt is very much alive. He's very much alive, and still very much on television. So anybody can, you know, go look at him currently and me currently and be like, does this compute? Does this compute? You know, that's strange. It's definitely a little bit of a head game, and you've only got so much time to tell such an incredible story. It has so many layers and so many moments. And I remember Kurt would be like, you know, in reality, that's not the way I win. I was like, I totally get it. Listen, if I could go back and switch it up, I would do it. But this is the movie version, and you just got to go with the movie version of it a little bit, you know.
JARED QUAY: Kurt, you worked in a supermarket while you were trying to reach your dreams and make it to the NFL. And actually, this question's for both of you, but outside of maybe a supermarket. What is the hardest job that each of you guys have had?
KURT WARNER: Well, I grew up in Iowa, and so most of the people that are listening will have no idea what this is, but I used to detassel corn. And so you know, back in the day in the summer, you would-- basically, we would take a bus, a big group of young kids would take a bus out to a big cornfield. And our job was to pull up the tassel off the top of the corn all day long in the middle of 110-degree heat in the middle of these corn fields.
JARED QUAY: That could be in the prequel. That's going to be an "American Underdog" prequel. You're going to get all that in there, right?
KURT WARNER: That's so boring that that would never make a movie.
ZACHARY LEVI: I think if I had to pick one, it was working at a car wash for a year and a half. It was-- I mean, look, I'll say this, the worst jobs that we have are still a blessing in that we had a job. And also, there they're bad almost for their own reasons, which is it's character building. It's like, if you just got straight to the good stuff, you would never have anything to compare it to. Like I am so grateful that I'm living my dreams not just because I'm living my dreams, but also because I don't have to work at a car wash anymore, you know.
JARED QUAY: Both of you guys are big sports fans, so I need to hear your opinions on the Rams and all the recent trades and acquisitions they got. Are they bringing back the Greatest Show on Turf? Is this the Greatest Show on Turf?
KURT WARNER: Easy. Easy. Easy. We're not going there.
ZACHARY LEVI: Is it technically turf anymore? What do you call that? Is it actually turf? That's not the turf that they played on.
KURT WARNER: No.
ZACHARY LEVI: It wasn't the carpet. The carpet of nothing that they played on.
KURT WARNER: Our turf was-- I don't even know if you call it turf. But it was fast, that was the good thing. I mean, I think the Rams is they're going all in to win a championship. I think the one thing that we've always seen in sports is that the most critical piece of being successful is chemistry. It's not about how talented all the individual pieces are. It's how it all comes together. And you know, that's going to be the interesting piece to this, is that, can all of that come together?
Because on paper, it looks really good on paper. But we don't play games on paper. I remember a game back in 2001, on paper, we were supposed to beat the Patriots pretty bad. And we ended up losing that Super Bowl to the Patriots and start with the Tom Brady dynasty. So on paper doesn't mean a whole lot. So I like what they're doing. I'm excited for the team. I think they're going all in to try to win a championship. But it's just not that easy as acquiring pieces.
ZACHARY LEVI: I really hope they go all the way. I think it's destined. I think it's destined. Our movie comes out at Christmas. They're going to be in the playoffs. You know, I think it's good. It's good. And in the Super Bowl's in LA, so come on, you know-- let's do it. Come on, Rams. Come on, Rams.
JARED QUAY: But I love it, man. Thank you, Kurt, Zachary. I appreciate you guys coming on "The Rush" with me today. If you're watching this, go check out "American Underdog" on Christmas. And watch the trailer it's amazing.
ZACHARY LEVI: Thank you, Jared. Pleasure, brother.
