Melvin Boomer, star of the brand new MMA-centric Netflix sequence The Cage, was thrilled to have the chance to turn out to be the fighter on display that his father would by no means turn out to be in actuality.
Within the five-episode drama sequence, Boomer performs the lead character Taylor, a younger fighter struggling to search out his path to fame and fortune in blended martial arts till an sudden, however career-changing combat comes about. All through the sequence, which has been described as each inspirational and gritty, Taylor encounters real-world UFC stars together with Georges St-Pierre, Ciryl Gane, and Jon ‘Bones’ Jones.
Up to now, The Cage has obtained principally favorable critiques with lots of them praising Boomer’s efficiency as a struggling fighter from Paris. Because it seems, entering into the function of blended martial artist wasn’t that massive of a stretch for Boomer.
“My father is an MMA fighter,” Boomer revealed in an interview with Schon! Journal. These days, he does Brazilian jiu-jitsu, however for a very long time, he was an MMA fighter, even earlier than it was authorized in France. I adopted him a bit throughout, to Belgium, Portugal… It was by no means my goal to turn out to be knowledgeable fighter like him, despite the fact that I did make my means by a number of practices, from Capoeira, and Parkours, to Break dancing, which I did for a really very long time.
“So, it wasn’t really my father to show me the way to this role, but it gave me incredible insight into the behind-the-scenes, to know what goes on before a fight in the changing rooms, the mindset of a fighter…”
Melvin Boomer’s Dad was ‘Very Proud’ of the cage
Raised in Vincennes, France, Boomer usually traveled in a foreign country to look at his dad combat as MMA wasn’t legalized in The Metropolis of Gentle till January 1, 2020.
“My father may be very, very proud. What’s lovely on this story is the truth that I embody, in a means, the fighter he couldn’t be. He started when he was tremendous younger, and at a time when MMA weren’t as accessible as they’re these days. Now, with social media, when you’re a younger fighter, you will get forward. He began in 2010 or 2011, however the entire scene has reworked since then.
“There have been movies about MMA — one with Tom Hardy, and a sequence referred to as Kingdom, but it surely’s probably not a sequence on MMA. That is the primary sequence based mostly round MMA, across the leagues that basically exist, like KSW or UFC, with a storyline round a fighter that isn’t one which we’re used to seeing.
The Cage — often known as La Cage in France — is at the moment out there to stream on Netflix.