The latest episode of the webseries, Disney+ Voices, features stars of the original film Rise, real-life brothers Uche Agada and Ral Agada.
What’s Happening:
- The latest episode of the Disney+ Webseries, Disney+ Voices, stars of Rise, Uche Agada and Ral Agada, hold an open and engaging conversation about their time working on the film through the lens of the Black experience.
- Brothers in both the movie and real life, Uche Agada & Ral Agada discuss their respective portrayals of Giannis and Thanasis Antetokounmpo, their experiences filming, and the importance of family and immigrant stories in media.
- Audiences have never seen a story like that of the Antetokounmpos. After emigrating from Nigeria to Greece, Charles and Vera Antetokounmpo (Dayo Okeniyi and Yetide Badaki, respectively) struggled to survive and provide for their five children, while living under the daily threat of deportation. With their oldest son still in Nigeria with relatives, the couple were desperate to obtain Greek citizenship but found themselves undermined by a system that blocked them at every turn. When they weren’t selling items to tourists on the streets of Athens with the rest of the family, the brothers– Giannis (Uche Agada) and Thanasis (Ral Agada)–would play basketball with a local youth team. Latecomers to the sport, they discovered their great abilities on the basketball court and worked hard to become world class athletes, along with brother, Kostas (Jaden Osimuwa). With the help of an agent, Giannis entered the NBA Draft in 2013 in a long shot prospect that would change not only his life but the life of his entire family. And last season, Giannis and Thanasis helped bring the Milwaukee Bucks their first championship ring in 50 years, while Kostas played for the previous season champs, the Los Angeles Lakers.
- Rise is now streaming on Disney+.
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