Jennifer Lopez Channeled Her Understanding of ‘Complicated’ and ‘Dysfunctional’ Love into Unstoppable Role (Exclusive)

Jennifer Lopez talks about how she understood the “complicated dynamics” in her new film Unstoppable.

Lopez, 55, stars as the real-life Judy Robles in the biopic alongside Jharrel Jerome as Anthony Robles, who was born with one leg and became an NCAA national championship-winning wrestler. Portraying Judy’s “dysfunctional and unhealthy” relationship with her husband and Anthony’s stepfather Rich, played by Bobby Cannavale, ended up feeling “very cathartic,” the actress-musician told PEOPLE.

“Women who are moms get into relationships and you struggle with them and you find yourself in a dynamic that’s not healthy, but you care about the person, you love them,” said Lopez, who is mom to twins Max and Emma. tells PEOPLE at the Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday, September 7. “It’s that complicated dynamic of life that I understand very well.”

Jennifer Lopez at the premiere of ‘Unstoppable’ at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 6.

Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty

And “everyone can identify” with such a story – “by the way, a lot of women and men”, Unstoppable the actress and producer adds of the film, which was mostly shot in early 2023 before the SAG-AFTRA strike and resumed that December. “I think we all have. I don’t think anyone is exempt from experiencing things like that from time to time.”

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Unstoppableadapted from the book of the same name by Anthony and Austin Murphy, it counts Ben Affleck and Matt Damon as producers, and William Goldenberg makes his directorial debut. Anthony, who along with his mother attended the Toronto premiere on September 6 with the cast and filmmakers, is also a producer (and Jerome’s understudy) on the film.

“When Judy and I first talked, for me it was just to learn as much as I could about how she really felt and all that stuff and what really happened,” Lopez recalls.

Jharrel Jerome as Anthony Robles in ‘Unstoppable’.

Amazon MGM Studios

Earlier in Judy and Rich’s relationship, as depicted in the screenplay by Eric Champnelle, Alex Harris and John Hindman, “it was a serious time,” she continues. “He thought he was helping raise this child [Anthony] when he took it. There was something between him and Judy that was real, however complicated and perhaps dysfunctional and unhealthy it was.”

Judy Robles “was very open with me” about her family dynamics, Lopez adds, “and I was open with her about my issues.”

The candid conversations allowed Lopez to “find commonality” in their life experiences, she says, “because at the end of the day, you bring a lot of yourself into these characters. You have to understand something about them that you love and understand and sympathize with… It was a real honor to do that and very cathartic for me.”

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(L-R:) Bobby Cannavale, Jharrel Jerome, Jennifer Lopez, Don Cheadle and Matt Damon at the premiere of ‘Unstoppable’ on September 6.

Monica Schipper/Getty

The best photos from PEOPLE’s A-List Portrait Studio at the Toronto International Film Festival

But sometimes, she says, portraying Judy’s story can be difficult. “I struggled on set a few times,” Lopez recalls. “I thought, ‘Ugh, too close.'” The experience also “took me to a different place in my life,” she says, noting that acting “teaches you about yourself and you learn things, and it was a really necessary and wonderful experience.”

Unstoppablefrom Amazon MGM Studios, will be in limited theaters this December and streamed on Prime Video. It stars Michael Peña and Don Cheadle.

The Toronto International Film Festival runs until September 15.

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Source: HIS Education