WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle recently spoke with TribLive, confirming that a biopic profiling his life is is in the works and is tentatively scheduled to begin filming this fall.
The report notes the film will chronicle Angle’s life journey starting from his youth, winning the Olympic gold-medal in 1996, his WWE career and more. Angle notes that some of the movie will be shot in Pittsburgh. Angle is a native of Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania.
Angle said the directors for the film are brothers Eshom and Ian Nelms, who have done past films starring Mel Gibson and Orlando Bloom. Angle added that the brothers used to wrestle in high school and college, so they understand the sport. Angle further noted they are doing good in raising money for the project and almost have the script done, in addition to putting the cast together.
The report also spotlights Angle giving back to amateur wrestling and working with USA Wrestling to help give female wrestlers like his daughter and others at all ages and ability levels, the chance to compete and have aspirations to be future Olympians. This includes raising needed funds to cover travel expenses, hotel stays during competitions and trips to training camps.
Angle said that the governments of countries like China and Russia pay their Olympic athletes to train and compete full time.
“They don’t have to get jobs or make a living. All they do is train and compete, and they are taken care of. We don’t have that luxury here in the United States. Here, our athletes, including women, have to get jobs, for the most part, and they have to train around their work schedule. If you’re working eight to 10 hours, that doesn’t leave much extra time to train, maybe two, three hours tops. That doesn’t fare well for an Olympic athlete…that is why I am raising money for them so they don’t have to worry about that for this year, next year, for the next three years. We want to them to be able to just focus on their training and competition and not worry about anything else.”
Angle said anyone who wishes to donate can visit kurtangle.org.
“It will help them train and prepare for the 2028 Olympics,” he said. “Anything donated is greatly appreciated.”
In addition to helping young female athletes, Angle also supports the Tunnels to Towers Foundation, which began after the September 11, 2001 attacks. The organization helps families of the fallen police officers, first responders and military servicemen pay their mortgages and other living expenses.
“It really hits home for me,” Angle said. “My dad was in the Army for four years and the Reserves for 33 years. He was killed in a construction accident, and we could’ve used the help Tunnels to Towers provides back in the day. I know how these families feel. That is security the families deserve. What they do for the families of fallen heroes is nothing short of amazing. I am so honored to be a part of this.”
The report concluded by highlighting that Angle saying that he enjoys and appreciates the opportunities to travel and speak to about his life in amateur and professional wrestling. He added that it is especially meaningful to be able to share the stories of his past battle with addiction to prescription pain medication.
“It is important I use that platform to be able to talk about my life story and hopefully help people out by talking about mistakes I’ve made about my addiction, how I overcame that, and what I had to do to make that happen…I am a pretty open book about my life. I want to share that with people to hopefully give them motivation to go ahead and get their lives in order if it has turned into a mess. I tell them my story and how I have been clean and sober for more than 14 years. I get a lot of great responses. I am just happy to be able to motivate people to better their lives.”