(Special to The Dallas Examiner) – In the major motion picture, Him from Universal Pictures, Marlon Wayans plays quarterback Isaiah “Zay” White – the GOAT or greatest of all time – who has won eight rings in the biggest game of the film’s fictional league.
As White’s career is winding down, the young Cameron “Cam” Cade’s future is in doubt due to a horrific injury. So Cade, played by relative newcomer Tyriq Withers, is overjoyed when White, who overcame a devastating injury, extends an invitation to train with him. At his remote compound where only fervent fans dare to stand guard hoping to catch White’s attention, Cade experiences some of the game’s ugliness.
Although Him is billed as a “psychological horror film,” the scary part is the real-life parallels to the real game.
“I had to be great just to be good so imagine what I had to do to be the greatest of all time,” White said to Cade in the film.
Wayans’s realistic approach to his portrayal of the aging quarterback greatly fuels the many doubts that swirl around White and Cam’s interactions. While race is not explicitly stated throughout the film, the implication of its impact is still present. The reality of the challenges older Black quarterbacks that White represents faced to secure both their jobs and create a legacy help to blur the lines. At different points, Cam is rightfully confused as to what constitutes “sacrifice” and what crosses the line.
The fact that film can even center its story around Black quarterbacks is an acknowledgement of the advances and unique challenges Black quarterbacks face on the game’s biggest stage. Not since Any Given Sunday, back in 1999, have Black quarterbacks been the main subject of a big screen film. And never in the vein of psychological horror.
“There’s been an explosion of Black quarterbacks. Back in the day, there was Doug Williams, there was Donovan McNabb, there were only a few. There was Steve McNair. But now, if you look at the league, it’s a lot of Black quarterbacks, so that’s not the big thing,” Wayans said.
This season, a record 16 Black quarterbacks – including the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles’s Jalen Hurts and runner-up and former Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs – kicked off the NFL season.
Despite lauding Wayans’s performance, critics haven’t been kind to the Jordan Peele-produced, Justin Tipping-directed film. Wayans noted via Instagram that critics also didn’t love the Scary Movie franchise he created with his brother Shawn which drops its sixth installment June 12, 2026, as well as his 2004 film White Chicks, highly regarded as a classic.
“Some movies are ahead of the curve,” Wayans wrote. “Innovation is not always embraced and art is to be interpreted and it’s subjective.”
Surprisingly, being offered the role of White outright was a rarity for Wayans in his career that also served as a huge vote of confidence.
“This was Jordan Peele and Justin Tipping going, ‘you’re the guy to play this guy.’ And that meant so much to me because that gave me the trust and freedom that they wanted me to bring all of me to Isaiah. And finally, I get to showcase all that Marlon does and the skills that I have in one character,” Wayans explained.
As the youngest member of the first generation of his iconic Hollywood family, Wayans, who is a working standup comedian as well as an actor, writer, and producer, says he brought his own experiences of sacrifice to the film.
“Sometimes sacrificing is a hard thing to do,” he said, sharing his relentless travel schedule that often leaves very little family time. “I sacrifice to do this, and I love it. So you have to be a lot of crazy to do that.”
At Florida State University, where NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders and Heisman winner Jameis Winston, who is currently a backup quarterback for the New York Giants, also played, Withers – best remembered for his breakout role in the Rich Wigga, Poor Wigga episode of season three of Donald Glover’s impactful series Atlanta exploring the concepts and reality of “Blackness,” – learned a lot about the game. Switching positions for Him, however, taught him a lot about the pressures of being a quarterback as well as life beyond just football.
“It was a bit of a transition to learn how to play like a quarterback. And I think the essence of this film just taught me that quarterbacks have an insane job, and I think the level of detail they have to focus in on taught me a lot about how to quarterback my own life, and I think it just really put me in a place that stretched me so far. And that’s why I love acting because you get to really learn more about yourself. Being a better Cameron Cade in this film allowed me to be a better Tyriq off the screen.”
This new reality, along with the very real concerns of CTE as well as the ongoing advancements in sports science and medicine, frees up a film like Him to “go deeper and really go into the layers,” Wayans said. “Films have gotten, I think, a lot more cerebral.”
This film’s impact, Wayans believes, lingers long after seeing it. “I think after the movie, you could discuss what certain things meant to you. And I think that’s the cool conversation about this film. You can re-watch and catch different easter eggs and different symbolism each and every go round.”
Wayans has proven that before with his other films. And, in time, Him might just prove to be another major feather in his Hollywood helmet.
Him is rated R for violence, language, sexual content, nudity and some drug use.