Almost a week has passed since Clemson won the National Championship, and the whole thing still feels unreal to me. Thirty-five years in the making, this journey was a long time coming, and by God was it worth it! However, with anything amazing and popular, it is only a matter of time before Hollywood gets a hold on the rights to “Dabo: A Clemson Football Story,” something which could be great if done right, but silly if done the wrong way. Luckily for Tinseltown, we at The Tiger have a great list of actors who’d be great for the star roles and allow the story to be told in the best way possible!
Alan Tudyk as Dabo Swinney
While my personal bias might be showing here since I’ve been a fan of Tudyk ever since his criminally-short tenure as laidback pilot Wash in “Firefly,” I think he could really do wonders in the role as Clemson’s Based God. While he’s probably been making bank after shacking up with Disney a few years ago (you may recognize him as the Duke of Weselton from “Frozen” and K-2SO from “Rogue One”), it’s about time the man got a chance at a leading role.
Michael B. Jordan as Deshaun Watson
Considering Jordan is one of the most accomplished and well known young actors out there today, it would only make sense to give him the role of Deshaun. Plus, the guy got screwed over two times in a row for not even getting an Oscar nomination for his roles in either “Fruitvale Station” or “Creed.” If you’ve ever heard of the Heisman, Jordan’s situation is something Deshawn can sympathize with. Plus, Jordan could really use the help getting the travesty that was 2015’s “Fantastic Four” reboot off everyone’s minds.
Donald Faison as Wayne Gallman
Faison hasn’t really done anything since he starred as loveable Dr. Christopher Turk in “Scrubs” all those years ago, so it would be pretty nice to see him out and about again. He even starred in “Remember the Titans” as well, so he already has the know-how of how a football biopic works!
Paul Giamatti as Dabo’s “Mentor”
As with most Hollywood-izations of real life sports teams, there has to be some kind of mentor character to guide the coach along the way through both awe inspiring wins and disappointing defeats. Giamatti would be a natural fit, being a fairly accomplished actor and basically being in every movie relating to sports anyways.
Kevin Spacey as Nick Saban
Now, is this a perfect fit or what? Nick Saban has always been a massive pain in the rear for most everyone, so to have devious and scheming Frank Underwood himself portray the longtime Alabama football coach seems very fitting. Plus, Spacey was essentially born for the role as a villain in most any movie, so to have his presence looming over from the distance as Clemson makes its way up to the Natty for round two would be amazing to see unfold on screen.
Travis Fimmel as Ben Boulware
While a picture of what Travis Fimmel looks like normally might not strike you as the first person one would get to play Boulware, anyone who has seen him in full warrior mode in History Channel’s “Vikings” could second me on why he’d fit perfectly as the massive linebacker for Clemson. It doesn’t hurt that Boulware looks like a Viking anyways with that massive beard and intimidating presence, so Fimmel would really only need to change into a football uniform and he’d be good to go!
Kevin Costner as Lee Corso
While not exactly a main player so to speak in Clemson’s rise to fame, it would still be pretty amusing to throw in Lee Corso of College Gameday fame in as a minor antagonist of sorts. While Costner has hit a rough patch over the past decade or so when it comes to his filmography, it would be nice for him to get a slightly more comedic, but still respectful role of Corso. After all, it would be nice to have a comedic relief break every now and again through intense training/game montages to have Corso confidently pick a ton of wrong teams to root for.