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less than brutal. Rickey chose Robinson
fromanaccomplishedgroupofblackplayers
intheNegroLeaguesbecauseRobinsonhad
anindependentstreakandconsiderableath-
leticskills;Robinson lettered in foursports
at UCLA. But in a country where blacks
couldn’t sleep or eat at hotels and restau-
rants that servedonlywhites,Rickeyknew
the first black player would find amean-
spiritedracialenvironment.Hewouldhave
to practice nonviolence long beforeMar-
tinLutherKingJr. preached itbecause the
onlywayforsocietytochange—andnotjust
baseballsociety—wastonotbethreatened.
Ford and Boseman are superb in re-
creating themeetingwhenFord, asRickey,
explains theabuse thatBoseman, asRobin-
son, surelywillreceive.
Robinson ispuzzled. “Youwant aplayer
thatdoesn’thavethegutstofightback?”he
asks.
Rickey answers: “No, I want a player
who’sgotthegutsnottofightback.”
Robinsonnever does, but he gets close.
In themostdevastating scene in themovie,
Robinson isnearlybrokenbyaprofaneop-
posingmanagerwho repeatedlyusesavile
ethnic slur while Robinson is at bat. Dis-
tractedandunabletofocus,Robinsonfinally
leavesthefieldandbreaksdown inatunnel.
WhatHelgelanddidn’t knowwasFord
hadgatheredasmuchaudioandvideotape
ofRickeyashecouldfind.Fordhadstudied
Rickey’smannerismsandpracticedhisvoice
andcadence.HehadRickeydownpat.
“Thedecisionwasthedirector’stomake,”
Ford says, smiling ever so slightly— but
confidently. “Therewasaperiodof timebe-
foreheaccepted that itwas inevitable.He
had ideasofhisown.ButIthinkIworehim
down.”
ThecollaborativeresultofnotonlyFord’s
actingandHelgeland’swriting, but alsoof
performances by film newcomers Chad-
wick Boseman andNicole Beharie (who
playJackieandRachelRobinson), isoneof
extraordinarypower.Baseballprovidesthe
setting for themovie,but it’salsoabout the
battleagainstracism.
“Oneof the thingsIwasstruckbywhenI
read thescript,”Fordsays, “is thatwehave
allowedourselvestoforgettoaconsiderable
degreehowrecentlyracismwasanaccepted
partofournationalcharacter.Withoutwhat
happened inbaseballwithJackieRobinson,
the civil-rightsmovementwouldhavehad
aharder time. I really think that itwas the
beginningof thecivil-rightsmovement.”
Someof the scenesdepicting the racism
ofthetimearestunning;othersarenothing
Whenyouhavea star, theyarebigger than
the role.Whenyou go seeClintEastwood,
heplaysClint Eastwood. GeorgeClooney
playsGeorgeClooney.HarrisonFordplays
HarrisonFord. Ididn’twant it tobeJackie
RobinsonandHarrisonFord.”
Fordhas beenwildly successful in the
movie industry, andhehasanacuteunder-
standingof it.Sowhenhewastoldhedidn’t
fit thepartof theroleherelished,hesolved
theproblembydoingwhathedoesbest.He
acted.
“Hewaspersistentand insistedonameet-
ing,”Helgeland says in a phone conversa-
tion. “Wemet, andheobviouslyhaddone
hishomeworkandhadreadthescriptmany
times.Therewasonescenethatheaskedme
about and said, ‘Howdoyou see itplaying?
Because you couldplay it in twodifferent
ways.’”
Ford proceeded to act out the scene,
whichwas a rareexperience forHelgeland.
Howmanypeople are treated to aprivate
performancebyHarrisonFord?Theimpact
wasexactlywhatFordhoped itwouldbe.
“HetookonthatBranchRickeyvoiceand
hedidthewholesceneothetopofhishead,
soheobviouslyhadmemorized it,”Helge-
landsays.“AndIwassittingthereandsaying,
‘Geez.Hecouldreallypull thiso.’”
CLOCKWISEFROMOPPOSITEPAGE:
FordasRickey in
42
; Robinson
in 1951; RobinsonandRickeyoff the
fieldandon it; ChadwickBoseman
asRobinson in
42
“Ethnic
PREJUDICE
hasnoplace
insports.”
—BranchRickey
AA.COM/AMERICANWAY
APRIL 01, 2013
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