'American Underdog' star Zachary Levi loved filming in Oklahoma so much, he's moving here

Considering he made two movies back to back in Oklahoma, Zachary Levi spent ample time in the Sooner State over the past year to earn honorary Okie status.

But he decided to make his Oklahoma residency official anyway.

"It was actually the first time I'd ever been to Oklahoma, and I spent probably about five months — it was like November, all the way through the holidays, all the way through March — and I loved it. In fact, I enjoyed my time in Oklahoma so much that I'm moving there. It's a real thing," Levi told The Oklahoman in a recent Zoom interview.

"I'm actually moving to Tulsa. ... I had a great time making those two films, and I want to make more. And I think the people of Oklahoma are awesome — all the people that I continue to meet or that come into my life there continue to be loving and kind and excited about making more movies in Oklahoma. So, that's what I'm going to do."

Levi, 41, will see the second of the two inspirational fact-based films he made in Oklahoma hit theaters in a coveted Christmas Day debut: The stage and screen actor tackled the title role in the football biopic "American Underdog," which tells the unlikely true story of hall of fame quarterback Kurt Warner.

"We got to make this incredible film that tells an incredible story about an incredible guy — but not just about the guy, about his incredible wife and his incredible kids. ...They're all underdogs and they're all just struggling to somehow make it in this rat race of life — and it's tough. It requires a lot of faith in oneself and faith in a higher power and stick-to-itiveness," said Levi, who has been living in the Austin, Texas, area for the past few years.

"The movie is 25% football, it's 75% life and relationships and parenting and struggle. And I think it's a wonderful testament to the majority of this country ... who are working-class folks who are just trying to make a life for themselves. And it's hard — and it's only gotten more difficult with a pandemic."

COVID-19 pandemic brought filmmakers back to Oklahoma

Based on Warner's memoir “All Things Possible: My Story of Faith, Football and the First Miracle Season," "American Underdog" chronicles the quarterback's stunning true story as he goes from stocking shelves at a supermarket to playing arena football to emerging as a two-time NFL MVP, Super Bowl champion and Pro Football Hall of Famer.

Except for a short stint shooting in Frisco, Texas, at Star Stadium, the 91-acre campus of the Dallas Cowboys world headquarters and practice facility, "American Underdog" was filmed in and around OKC earlier this year by a pair of filmmakers already familiar with Oklahoma: Brothers Andrew and Jon Erwin, who previously directed the true-life hit "I Can Only Imagine" in the Sooner State.

"It was the No. 1 independent film of 2018, and it just blew away all our expectations to nearly $85 million in box office. So when it came time to do the Kurt Warner story and we were right in the middle of the pandemic, I just felt like, 'I need a home-field advantage. I would love to go back to Oklahoma,' just because we felt so well-treated. It was so collaborative, and there was just a can-do attitude to the whole state," Jon Erwin told The Oklahoman.

The Erwin Brothers, whose Kingdom Story Co. has a long-term partnership with Lionsgate to provide "event-level entertainment for audiences of faith," eventually opted to make not one but two more fact-based movies in Oklahoma, both starring Levi. With pandemic protocols in place, filming started in autumn 2020 on "The Unbreakable Boy" in OKC, Norman, Midwest City, Okarche, Guthrie, El Reno and Bethany, with the Erwins producing and Jon Gunn writing and directing.

Based on the book “The Unbreakable Boy: A Father’s Fear, a Son’s Courage, and a Story of Unconditional Love” by Scott M. LeRette and Susy Flory, the family drama centers on a boy named Austin (Jacob Laval, “John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch”), who was born with a rare brittle-bone disease as well as autism. With his joyous perspective and indestructible spirit, Austin transforms everyone around him, especially his dad (Levi), in the inspirational film, due out March 18.

"We actually went before 'American Underdog' because we were even a smaller budget with a smaller crew. So, it was almost like a test drive. It was like, 'OK, can we make a movie in the pandemic?' ... And guess what? We made a great little movie, and I can't wait for people to see that, too. And then a lot of that same crew, we could build upon and we all moved over to 'American Underdog,'" said Levi, who is best known for playing the titular DC superhero in "Shazam!," an unlikely super spy in the NBC series "Chuck" and the good-hearted thief Flynn Rider in the Disney animated film "Tangled."

"I was so grateful that Lionsgate and Kingdom Story were able to spin these productions up because a lot of us were sitting and not working — and I thrive in work."

Levi made Oklahoma movies before filming 'Shazam!' sequel

Working in Oklahoma allowed Levi to make "American Underdog" and "The Unbreakable Boy" before taking on "Shazam! Fury of the Gods," the follow-up to the 2019 blockbuster "Shazam!" The superhero sequel is expected in theaters in 2023.

"Zac Levi has just an infuriating level of talent. When you can anchor a Broadway show and a Disney movie like 'Tangled' and a TV series and a superhero franchise like 'Shazam!,' it just makes it difficult for all of us," Jon Erwin said wryly. "The guy's just got an incredible amount of talent, and I just can't think of anyone more perfect to play Kurt Warner. ... For years, my brother and I have been friends with him and never done a project together, and we just felt like this was right. ... We just felt like it was the role he was born to play."

Despite developing tendinitis while learning to throw like a pro quarterback, the Tony Award-nominated actor said it was an honor to portray Warner.

"Learning how to throw a proper football spiral at the age of 40 is not ideal, let me tell you. You want to have those 10-year-old tendons, that's what you want. You want to be young and spry," Levi said with a grin. "But I had a great quarterback coach, Clint Dolezal, who taught me so much, not just about the mechanics of throwing and how to throw a better spiral but the mechanics of the game: how to get into a quarterback's head, the decisions you have to make as a quarterback in real time, looking for your receivers, looking at their coverage, who's open, who's going to be open."

Like an NFL game, once the project came together, it moved quickly, and Levi said he only had about a month and a half to prepare to convincingly go pro. With the tight schedule and pandemic travel restrictions, Levi, a Louisiana native who grew up in Ventura, California, was only able to spend a couple days with Warner and his wife Brenda — played by Oscar winner Anna Paquin ("The Piano," "X-Men") in the biopic — before filming started.

"Fortunately, then they were on set maybe even more than half the time, so it was like I was learning to be Kurt in real time. ... The fact that he was cool and just chilling and enjoying the process was like, 'OK, I think I'm not screwing this up. I think I'm doing the right thing,'" said Levi, who hosted an OKC Super Bowl party for the former pro football players providing the on-field action for the sports biopic.

"You're playing a real person who's still alive, and that's an extra bit of expectation and pressure — but particularly if that person is Kurt Warner. ... I knew that there were going to be comparisons that were going to be made. That's part of the deal. So, you hope that you're just giving the best essence you can of who this person is."

Along with learning to portray one of the great underdogs in football history, Levi also spent time learning about the Oklahoma film industry, which helped convince him to make his move to the state.

"I've had some great conversations with everyone in the film commission and legislators who were very crucial in building and passing the bills that are so beneficial for the filming incentives now. And I am very excited about that. I had a great time making those two films — and I want to make more," Levi said.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: 'American Underdog' star Zachary Levi scores playing Kurt Warner, working on Oklahoma films