Culture / Entertainment

Luke Wilson Tells All On Tackling Fort Worth, Football and the Unbelievably True Tale of 12 Mighty Orphans — a PaperCity Exclusive

The Actor's Sixth Movie Filmed in Texas is a Story About Overcoming Incredible Odds

BY // 05.28.21

A true Fort Worth fable is finally coming to the silver screen with Dallas’ own Luke Wilson in a starring role and a host of Texans at the controls. 12 Mighty Orphans tells the story of the Mighty Mites of the Fort Worth Masonic Home, who went from playing without shoes — or even a football — to vying for the Texas state championship during one unimaginable season.

Adding to the anticipation is the fact that 12 Mighty Orphans was filmed on location in Fort Worth. Local audiences will love spotting iconic, period venues including Farrington Field, The Ridglea Theatre and The Fort Worth Masonic Temple. There also striking flyovers of downtown landmarks such as The Fort Worth Club building.

“They were all kind and patient with us about shooting there,” Luke Wilson tells PaperCity Fort Worth. “It was a great place to shoot.

Betsy Price, the mayor, was really helpful and so was the Fort Worth Film Commission. It couldn’t have gone better.”

The movie is adapted from Jim Dent’s bestselling book of the same name. The screenplay was written by Ty Roberts, Lane Garrison and Kevin Meyer. 12 Mighty Orphans will premiere June 11 in Texas, and then be released nationwide on June 18.

The film boasts a powerhouse of a cast and crew, just like the orphans themselves. Besides Wilson, it’s brought to life by fellow Texans Ty Roberts (writer/director/producer), Lane Garrison (writer/actor) and Houston Hill (producer).

12 Mighty Orphans tells the story of the Depression-era football team that captured the imagination of a desperate nation during its Cinderella season. They went from unlikely underdogs to providing real hope that anything was possible.

Coach Rusty Russell recognized that his fledgling football team of only 12 players were outmatched by larger teams and their weightier linemen. Russell developed innovative strategies to capitalize on their one real strength ― speed. Those strategies would come to define modern football. Especially the passing game.

Russell was a teacher, an advocate and, most importantly, a father-figure to the boys on his team. Luke Wilson plays Russell, sporting round wire-rimmed glasses and a period fedora.

12 – On the set of 12 Mighty Orphans
On the set of 12 Mighty Orphans – book written by sports writer Jim Dent. (Photo courtesy of Sony Classics)

Russell knew how to face adversity from his own first-hand experience. Having been abandoned and orphaned as a young child, he survived the death of his brother, and was nearly blinded during World War I. In the midst of the Great Depression and against overwhelming odds, Russell taught his charges how to persevere.

“Any one of those things would have been enough to change the direction of one’s life,” Wilson notes. “He went through so much, and that’s why it’s incredible to me that he would have left a prestigious school district and football program in Tyler to move to Fort Worth and take over this orphanage. I think this is hopefully a good movie to come out after the last year.”

This is feel-good movie, one that tells a compelling story rather than trying to shock. Or show things blowing up.

“Thing about football. . . it teaches teamwork and discipline, and those are key elements to survival,” Wilson says as Russell in the film.

Luke Wilson’s Texas Life

By Wilson’s count, this is at least the sixth movie he’s been in that was filmed in his home state of Texas.

Luke Wilson and Martin Sheen star in 12 Mighty Orphans. (Photo courtesy of Sony Classics)
Luke Wilson and Martin Sheen star in 12 Mighty Orphans. (Photo courtesy of Sony Classics)

Filming took place from October through November 2019, so the entire crew got to enjoy some great fall weather. Wilson even got to attend a TCU football game during filming.

“Growing up in Dallas, we went to Fort Worth all the time,” he says. “We’d go to the Amon Carter Museum, and then to Joe T’s. And we’d go to the rodeo each year. For me, just from an acting standpoint, it was nice to hear that accent all the time. It was fun to get the chance to live there for a couple of months.”

Unlike his character, Luke Wilson enjoyed a tight-knit family life as a child. “I had an idyllic childhood,” he says, recalling the hours he and his brothers spent playing video games at the 7-11, on the corner of Preston and Royal near his house in Dallas.

One of Wilson’s most passionately delivered lines in 12 Mighty Orphans takes place before the Mighty Mites take the field against Highland Park High School. “Let’s show these silver spoon Scotties what we’re made of,” Wilson declares as Coach Russell.

Wilson, a graduate of St. Mark’s School of Texas, is quite familiar with that rivalry. He faced off against Highland Park High in both football and track during his own high school years. Wilson assures me that particular line was always in the script and was not a personal addition.

Alongside Wilson, actor Wayne Knight, who will forever be linked to his iconic character Newman from Seinfeld, plays a true villain in 12 Mighty Orphans. His embodiment of bully Frank Wynn will make you grimace, tear up, and even bow up every time he enters the frame.

Forty years after starring together in Apocalypse Now, Robert Duvall and Martin Sheen reunited in 12 Mighty Orphans, albeit briefly. Duvall’s character Mason Hawk coins the team’s nickname The Mighty Mites in his cameo appearance. Sheen plays Doc Hall, the physician at the Masonic Home, who dedicated more than 30 years of service to the orphanage without ever asking for any payment in return. In the movie, the melodic voice of Sheen’s Doc Hall also serves at the story’s narrator. Doc also becomes Rusty Russell’s defensive coach.

Treat Williams plays the role of Fort Worth media mogul Amon Carter, the founder of The Star Telegram, who pulled a few strings through his relationship with President Franklin D. Roosevelt to ensure the orphans would even get a chance to take to the field.

Team photo of 12 Mighty Orphans. (Photo by Laura Wilson)

 

 

 

 

 

Mom Jumps In — With Stunning Photographs

Luke Wilson’s mother Laura Wilson, who was on set during filming, put her world renowned photography skills to good use. She’ll be showing her portraits during a new exhibition, Twelve Mighty Orphans – Behind the Scenes: Laura Wilson, featuring photography and props from the new film.

The exhibit, hosted in conjunction with the Fort Worth Film Commission, opens June 8 and will run through August 8 at The National Cowgirl Museum.

“She loved being on set,” Wilson tells PaperCity. “She loved the boys on the team. When we’d wrap after a long day, she’d continue taking pictures of the cast.”

Somehow when I watched a preview screening of 12 Mighty Orphans, I didn’t get choked up until the credits began rolling. Learning what the members of this unique team of orphaned boys went on to accomplish as grown men is nothing short of awe-inspiring. All 12 went on to become true American heroes off the field as well.

“My feeling was there was no way this wasn’t because of Rusty,” Wilson says. “Obviously they were incredible people, but if they hadn’t had this person come into their life . . . It’s the same as having a good parent or a bad parent.

“That’s what Rusty was, not even a father-figure. He was the father to these boys.”

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