‘Warrior Strong’ Star Jordan Johnson-Hinds on Learning From Co-Star Andrew Dice Clay (Exclusive)

Jordan Johnson-Hinds is an actor on the rise as he’s appeared in the television shows Nurses and Endgame as well as the Nicolas Cage film The Retirement Plan. And now, the 33-year-old is taking his talents to the basketball court, starring opposite Andrew Dice Clay in the movie Warrior Strong. PopCulture.com spoke to Johnson-Hinds about his new movie and revealed what he learned from working with Clay. 

“I learned every single day how to be a professional, how to be an artist, how to work, get the best deal, and how to just allow things to be,” Johnson-Hinds told PopCulture. “It’s not acting. It’s vibrations. And you’re just telling a story and that’s what it is. And you’re creating something for people to sit down with anytime of day. It can be on the subway, watching it on their phone or for a holiday with their family. But that essence will always be there because it was caught on camera.”

Johnson-Hinds plays Bilal Irving, a pro basketball player who returns to his hometown to coach his high school basketball team. But he has to work with his old high school coach, Avery Schmidt (Clay) who just suffered a heart attack and is not stepping down from the position as head coach. The two have different styles of coaching and have to work together to get the team to become winners. 

“It’s a story about redemption,” Johnson-Hinds said. “It is a story about acceptance, and it is a story about remembering where you came from and using that knowledge to better yourself and the community in which you live. I think that’s what this movie is about.”

Johnson-Hinds’ character is skilled on the basketball court and has a high basketball IQ. And the role is not foreign to him as he played high school basketball in Canada. “I played with Corey Joseph, who’s on the Detroit Pistons today,” Johnson-Hinds said. “So I was pretty good. I could have definitely made it to college. …I have friends now playing overseas, which is a true testament to how basketball has grown over the years.”

Warrior Strong has an underdog feel to it, and that is something Johnson-Hinds can relate to. “I feel like my whole career has been an underdog story, man,” he said. “My whole career has been an underdog story.”