00:00Yeah, this ain't no game, baby.
00:02It's what I do.
00:03Let me see that shot.
00:04Let me see it.
00:09Too bad.
00:11We ain't lost.
00:12I love it.
00:13The interview's done.
00:15All right, it is 105.1 The Bounce,
00:18and I have the amazing pleasure of speaking with someone
00:21who's really doing the darn thing
00:23and is embodying a legendary person,
00:26but bringing him down to such a humble
00:29and such a vulnerable way to see such a great legend.
00:33I am in the presence of a legend in the making.
00:36His name is Jalen Best.
00:37How are you doing today?
00:38Amazing.
00:39I can't complain at all.
00:41First, I just want to say,
00:42I was able to see the first episode, Fran,
00:44and you did that, okay?
00:46I know that's right.
00:48How does it feel to have this one be your first major project
00:53and then come out the gate swinging, literally?
00:55Yeah.
00:56You know, I'm being very present, you know,
00:57because it is a blessing to be able to play Muhammad Ali,
01:00and I think, you know,
01:01it's really the most fun I've had in my life,
01:04and I think at the same time,
01:06the most challenge I've had in my life as well.
01:08There's still so much more story to tell and so far to go,
01:12but I think presently I'm very blessed to be able to be where I'm at.
01:17And it just shows how much fun you're having,
01:20not only on screen,
01:21but even just witnessing you in the ring.
01:24I got a mean shuffle.
01:25Very mean.
01:27Muhammad would be quaking right now.
01:30That's the hope, absolutely.
01:32And because so many people know Ali's, like, major highlights,
01:36we know the highlight reel, essentially, for him,
01:38but this series emphasizes him not only as a son but a brother,
01:41but also a young man just trying to figure out not only how to walk life,
01:46but how to walk this professional life.
01:48And I think we're really seeing the dichotomy that he has to go through,
01:51especially in the first episode.
01:53How did you take that on?
01:55Because he's walking into a whole different world,
01:57not only professionally,
01:59but also when he comes back to his hometown.
02:02So how were you able to embody that while also, you know,
02:05knowing what is to come later in his life?
02:07I mean, you know,
02:08I'm thankful to our partners on the show,
02:11Blue Monday Productions, Outlier Society,
02:13and Authentic Brands Group, Rock Nation,
02:15and everyone involved because they allowed us,
02:18and Amazon specifically, you know,
02:20allowed us to go to Rome and, you know,
02:23experience the Colosseum and shoot in the Colosseum
02:26and walk around Rome.
02:27And I did that for the first time when we went.
02:29So a lot of what I was able to show in the show
02:33was from my natural instincts of what I was feeling
02:35and then also putting myself into, you know,
02:38Muhammad Ali's feet, Cassius Clay, if you will.
02:41You know, his shoes of him visiting for the first time
02:44and winning that gold medal and what that meant.
02:46So I think to go to a place like Rome
02:49when you come from America in the 1960s,
02:53I think, you know,
02:56you leave and you come back with that idea of,
02:59I wish home can be, you know, this, you know, inclusive,
03:02or I wish there could be this type of love back home
03:06through people of all different races and nationalities.
03:10So I think the Rome experience is probably, in my opinion,
03:14what created that sense of, you know,
03:17I want to make home better, you know, for my people
03:21and not just, you know, from an athletic perspective,
03:26but from a life perspective and, you know,
03:28creating opportunity for our people
03:30and to, you know, create a better life for our people.
03:33I love how, like, invested and detailed you are.
03:37I can imagine, especially with his widow Lonnie
03:40in the production of it all too,
03:42you got to really, like, get a lot more insight
03:45into who Cassius was
03:47before he became the Muhammad Ali that we know.
03:49So as you are walking in as Jalen Best,
03:52what is something that you feel like
03:55you've been able to learn about yourself
03:57through this process
03:58that you probably wouldn't have been able to learn
04:01through another character?
04:03Yeah.
04:03Like, you learned this, and it was like,
04:05Ali is the only person
04:06who could have allowed me to learn this about myself.
04:08Yeah, you know, I think for me,
04:10I've always had a feeling that I could do something great.
04:13I think it was just kind of being put in a situation
04:16that made me feel like it was truly possible.
04:18This opportunity has made me feel like it's extremely possible.
04:23But starting from a place of me having the confidence
04:26and believing in myself
04:27to the space of, like, I know what I'm capable of.
04:30And I know where, you know,
04:32God has placed my heart in this world,
04:34in this life that I have to, you know,
04:36want to care for other people,
04:37want to be, you know, selfless, you know,
04:39and to be, you know, put my family
04:41and people around me in better positions in life.
04:44So I think now that I'm doing that,
04:46it's all for this role of my experience
04:48of learning and learning about Muhammad Ali himself.
04:52But I think the biggest thing that resonates more with me
04:55is, you know, someone like Ali
04:57who could speak out on his faith
04:59on top of being the best, you know,
05:01athlete of his time and of his sport.
05:05I think that's something that still sticks with me today
05:08because, you know, we don't have a person
05:10that talks about faith the way he talks about faith.
05:14So I think when I think about that
05:16is not only being the best in your career
05:19in what you do and what people know you for,
05:22but allowing them to experience
05:25the complete truth of who you are,
05:27whether that's your faith and what you believe
05:29and the people you surround yourself with,
05:32the communities you surround yourself with,
05:34what you do outside of your sport,
05:36plus what you do inside your sport.
05:38So being completely transparent in life of who you are
05:41and not, you know, sugarcoating anything
05:43is what I've learned, you know, from Ali
05:45and is what I hope I can grow
05:47to be, you know, completely confident in myself
05:50and who God has called me to be.
05:52Come on now, who better to play Muhammad?
05:54Like, that was the perfect answer
05:57that I could have ever thought of
05:58and obviously Muhammad is very known for it.
06:01The greatest, obviously.
06:02You say it a bunch of times.
06:04So I want to know what you are the greatest at, Jalen.
06:07And I'll give you a little snippet on me, friend,
06:09because now we're friends.
06:10Absolutely.
06:11I'm really good.
06:12I think I'm the greatest at listening
06:14and reading audiobooks at two times speed.
06:16Ooh, you got it.
06:17What's like your speed?
06:18Oh, two times speed.
06:19Like two times.
06:19I'm like a 1.5, sometimes 1.2, yeah.
06:22That's still cute.
06:23Yeah.
06:23So what do you feel like you are the greatest at?
06:27Ooh, I think I'm the greatest at caring for other people
06:34and I think I'm the greatest for...
06:39Oh, yeah.
06:40I think I'm the greatest for caring for other people.
06:42I'll say that.
06:43I care tremendously about everyone.
06:45Sometimes that means being a little selfish
06:47to, you know, put yourself in a position
06:49to care about the people you love.
06:52So I think, yeah, there's a balance,
06:54but I think I care way too much about other people
06:57and I love it.
06:58I love it.
06:59Hey, you have a good heart and a generous heart
07:01and that makes you an incredible actor
07:03because you can really see the passion,
07:06the dedication that not only you,
07:08but the entire team did for this project.
07:10I am super excited for everyone
07:12to finally be able to see it November 4th.
07:14The fact that we have to wait so long is ridiculous.
07:16Hey, I've been waiting for a year and a half.
07:19It feels like it's been a long time since we finished.
07:21I'm like, I can't wait.
07:22Let's get to it.
07:23Yeah, let's get to it.
07:25Well, I am so excited for everyone
07:27to see Jalen being the greatest
07:28and you'll be able to see him for a prime video
07:31when it comes out November 4th.
07:32That's right.
