You’ve probably seen the trailer or scrolled past it on a streaming app. A grumpy Woody Harrelson coaching a basketball team. It looks like every other underdog sports movie from the last thirty years, right? Well, kinda. But there is a massive detail about the cast of champions 2023 film that most casual viewers actually miss, and it’s the reason the movie feels so different from the "inspiration porn" we usually get from Hollywood.
Honestly, the 2023 version of Champions—directed by Bobby Farrelly in his first solo outing without his brother Peter—isn't just a remake of the 2018 Spanish hit Campeones. It's a massive shift in how disability is shown on screen. Instead of casting able-bodied actors to "act" like they have intellectual disabilities, Farrelly went out and found ten actors who actually live these lives every day.
Who Really Makes Up the Cast of Champions 2023 Film?
The movie follows Marcus (Harrelson), a minor-league coach with a temper and a DUI who gets sentenced to 90 days of community service. His job? Coaching "The Friends," a Special Olympics basketball team. While Woody brings that classic, slightly unhinged charm he’s had since White Men Can’t Jump, he’s basically the straight man here. The real energy comes from the players.
Take Madison Tevlin, who plays Cosentino. She is a total firecracker. There’s a scene where she basically threatens to "MeToo" Marcus if he comes into the locker room, and her delivery is so sharp it catches you off guard. Then you have Joshua Felder as Darius, the star player who refuses to play for Marcus because of a personal grudge involving a drunk driver. It adds a layer of actual drama that isn't just "feel-good" fluff.
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The rest of the roster includes:
- Kevin Iannucci as Johnny (who also happens to be the brother of the female lead).
- Ashton Gunning as Cody.
- Matthew Von Der Ahe as Craig, the guy obsessed with his multiple "girlfriends."
- Tom Sinclair as Blair.
- James Day Keith as Benny.
- Alex Hintz as Arthur.
- Casey Metcalfe as Marlon.
- Bradley Edens as Showtime, the guy who has all the victory dances but maybe not all the shooting skills.
It's a lot of names to keep track of. But by the end of the two-hour runtime, you actually know these people. That’s a rare thing in a movie with an ensemble this big.
Is It Actually Based on a True Story?
Sorta. It’s a remake of a Spanish film, but that original movie was loosely inspired by the Aderes team from Burjassot. That real-life team won twelve Spanish championships between 1999 and 2014. So, while the specific characters like Marcus and Alex are fictionalized for the screen, the heart of the story—a team of intellectually disabled athletes dominating their league—is very much real.
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Kaitlin Olson plays Alex, Marcus’s love interest and Johnny’s sister. If you know her from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, you know she’s the queen of physical comedy. Here, she’s a bit more grounded. She plays a Shakespearean actress living in a van who doesn't take any of Marcus's nonsense. Their chemistry works because it's awkward. It’s not a "movie stars in love" vibe; it’s more like "two people over 40 trying to figure out if this one-night stand is worth the effort."
Why the Casting Choice Matters More Than the Script
Let’s be real: the script follows the sports movie template to a T.
Coach is a jerk.
Coach meets ragtag team.
Coach learns to be a better human.
Team goes to the big game.
But the cast of champions 2023 film saves it from being boring. Because the actors are actually disabled, the humor feels authentic rather than exploitative. There’s no "pity" here. The players make fun of Marcus as much as he struggles to teach them a zone defense. Bobby Farrelly mentioned in interviews that a lot of the best lines were actually improvised by the Friends during filming in Winnipeg.
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They weren't just following marks on a floor; they were bringing their own lives into the scenes. For example, the character Benny actually works in a restaurant in real life, just like his character. This crossover between reality and fiction is what gives the movie its "human" quality.
A Few Things That Might Annoy You
The movie isn't perfect. It's over two hours long, which is a bit much for a comedy. Also, some critics pointed out that the film still centers Marcus’s redemption a bit too much. It uses the team as a tool for his "growth," which is a tired trope.
But then you see a scene like the one where the team is on a bus singing "Tubthumping" or the "Big Balls" celebration after a shot, and you kind of forget the cliches. It’s a movie that succeeds because of the people in it, not the plot points they’re forced to hit.
How to Approach This Movie Now
If you’re looking to watch it, keep an eye out for the small details in the performances of the Friends. They aren't background extras. They are the engine.
Next Steps for the Curious:
- Watch the original: Check out the 2018 Spanish film Campeones to see how the tone differs (it’s a bit "goofier," according to Farrelly).
- Look up the Aderes team: Research the real-life Valencia-based team to see the actual history of the athletes who inspired this whole movement.
- Follow the actors: Many of the cast members, like Madison Tevlin and Joshua Felder, have become advocates for disability representation in media.