Rise Movie 2022: Real-Life Brothers Tells the True Story of NBA Brothers Antetokounmpo

NEW YORK – “Rise” is based on the real-life story of the Antetokounmpo family, including brothers Giannis, Thanasis and Kostas, the first trio of brothers to become NBA champions in league history – Giannis and Thanasis while serving for the Milwaukee Bucks starred and Kostas as the Los Angeles Laker. Giannis is known as the “Greek freak”. Her brother Alex is also a professional basketball player.

“When I first heard the story, it was very clear to me that we had an incredibly modern tale of triumph over adversity. And what made it modern was that it’s a universal story. It’s a universal family story. It’s a story of faith,” said Arash Amel, writer.

The film follows the family after Charles Antetokounmpo and his wife Vera (Veronica) emigrate to Greece from Nigeria and shows their efforts to support their family under threat of deportation and secure Greek citizenship through a flawed immigration system that ” blocked her at every turn,” reads the film’s synopsis.

“Everyone talks about us, about me, Thanasis, Kostas and Alex and Francis, but they always leave out our parents, you know, my father and mother,” Giannis said. “So, you know, we knew that one day we would tell them who the real heroes of this story and this journey are.”

Meanwhile, Giannis and Thanasis start playing basketball in a local youth team and discover their talent and passion for the sport. The rest is history of course as Giannis, Thanasis and Kostas are eventually drafted into the NBA.
Rise stars real-life brothers Uche and Ral Agada as young Giannis and Thanasis.

“I was just lying in bed one day and I went on Instagram. And I see a screenshot of a tweet that Giannis posted that says Disney is making a movie about his life and his family’s life and they’re looking for someone to play him and his brothers,” Uche said. “So “I just clicked on a link and just sent a video just talking about myself. And then I sent in a video. A few months later I got a call back. And for me, I was never an actor before that , so that was very strange to me. So when it said call back with a director of a movie, I was like, yo, that’s crazy. But I did this call back and another call back. And finally they said I had got the part, which is absolutely incredible.”

That wasn’t the end, there was more good news.

“And then a few weeks later, they asked me if I had siblings, and I said I had an older brother,” Uche said. That led to the casting of his brother Ral.
The cast also includes Dayo Okeniyi, Yetide Badaki, Manish Dayal and Taylor Nichols.

“Everyone who has played our family has done an incredible job,” Giannis said. “We feel like they’re our family now and they’re a part of us.”

MORE: Exclusive clip from Disney+ ‘Rise’

“Rise” was directed by Akin Omotoso, written by Amel and produced by Bernie Goldmann. Giannis Antetokounmpo is serving as executive producer alongside Douglas S. Jones.

The film also includes original music co-written and performed by Antetokounmpo’s eldest son, Francis, known by the stage name Ofili.

Stream Rise this Friday, June 24 exclusively on Disney+.

The Walt Disney Co. is the parent company of this ABC network.