Marshawn Lynch opened up about the personal reason he joined the cast of Bottoms, and it's pretty sweet.
Bottoms follows queer best friends Josie (Ayo Edebiri) and PJ (Rachel Sennott) as they come up with a plan to meet girls and lose their virginity before they graduate high school. That plan soon turns into a fight club.
The former NFL running back plays Mr. G in the film, an oblivious history teacher who mentors Josie and PJ and later heads up their fight club.
Marshawn has taken on acting roles in the past in projects like Westworld and Murderville, and has built a reputation for being authentic and naturally funny. But it wasn't just the comedic script that drew him to Bottoms, it was also a way he could overcome a regretful family moment.
During an interview with Bottoms director Emma Seligman for GQ Sports, she gushed over Marshawn excelling in the role and how he decided to play Mr. G in an attempt to "right his wrongs" with his sister.
"In our first conversation, he told me that his sister is queer," Emma said of Marshawn. "And when they were in high school, he didn’t necessarily handle it super well."
"He felt like this movie coming into his hands was the universe giving him a chance to right his wrongs. That’s what he said."
Marshawn and his sister have since moved on from that incident and strengthened their sibling bond. He even walked her down the aisle at her wedding. But there was still more he wanted to do for her. His sister thought this movie would be a great idea.
"His sister thought it’d be really cool if he did this. We had a couple more conversations about it, and eventually, he said yes!"
Marshawn expanded his thoughts on that moment in a different interview, admitting that this opportunity was really "good" for him.
"This was a good opportunity for me, because when I was in high school, my sister had came out as being a lesbian," Marshawn said. "I did not handle it right."
"As a 16-year-old boy, I didn't handle it the way that I feel I probably should have. So, I told her it was giving me an opportunity to correct my wrongs. To rewrite one of my mistakes."
What a wholesome gesture. I'm sure his sister is proud! Be sure to catch Marshawn, Ayo, Rachel, and the rest of the Bottoms cast in a theater near you.
