‘Big George Foreman’ Star Sonja Sohn on Playing ‘Critical’ Role in Boxing Film (Exclusive)

George Foreman has had a number of people in his life that shaped him into the man he is today. But none are more important than the one that has been by his side for his entire life. PopCulture.com spoke exclusively to Sonja Sohn, who plays Foreman’s mother Nacy in the new movie Big George Foreman, and she opened up about playing the important character in the film. 

“Many of our Black men aren’t able to, or weren’t able in his era, to overcome in the fashion that he was able to and to reach the heights that he was able to in his life,” Sohn exclusively told PopCulture. “And I had an example of that in my life, which was my father. And when I see what George Foreman was able to accomplish in his life, and what my father was not able to accomplish in his life, it sent me on a journey of wondering why certain obstacles my father was not able to overcome but George was. And when I went on that journey, what I uncovered was, they had different mothers. My father actually didn’t grow up with a mom. His mom passed away when he was four years old. And they grew up in very similar circumstances.”

Sohn continued: “So at that moment, I realized that the mother was so critical to George’s success. When I realized, ‘Oh, it’s not just a boxing movie,’ that’s when I realized it wasn’t just a boxing movie. For George to become who he eventually became and to be successful in the way that he did become successful, there was something; that the mother had a story and the mother was, despite all of the hardships that they faced as a family, she was able to pull something. She had some seeds, she had a powerful love and a powerful connection to something higher, something greater than anything on this plane that she was able to give to him. And so I got to see, that was a journey of discovery for me once I was asked to take a meeting on the role.”

Foreman grew up in Texas with his mom being the sole provider for the family. He would get in trouble, but his mother was always there to make sure he stays on the right path. And while it took some time for that to happen, Foreman did by becoming a preacher and helping those in need while becoming a heavyweight champion at 45 years old. 

Sohn also talked about the conversation she had with Foreman before filming. “In the time that we had to speak, we spoke mostly about his relationship with his mom and how impactful that was in his life and his relationships,” she said. “There’s a lot of information about, there’s a lot of family story that we just weren’t able to get into because it’s only two hours. But yeah, I got a lot of great history, and really what he had to overcome just in terms of how he had to build his own esteem back up. Being a kid who grew up impoverished, moved a lot, was bigger than everybody in his family.” Big George Foreman is playing in theatres now.