Participating in a track and field event for SMC
Chimechi on the gridiron
A relaxed moment
Chimechi in the garden
Chimechi Oparanozie, former SMC Athlete of the Year, rising star
Chimechi (l) with Don Cheadle (c) & other cast & crew from "Unstoppable"
How does a former Santa Monica College football player find himself on the red carpet alongside celebrities likes Jennifer Lopez, Jharrel Jerome and Matt Damon?
Chimechi Oparanozie was SMC’s 2018 Athlete of the Year, excelling both in football and track and field. But he harbored Hollywood dreams tracing back to a teenage obsession with “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.”
Thanks to his athletic prowess, the 285-pound defensive end found steady work as a stuntman on the television series All American starting in 2019. The popular sports drama, inspired by the life of New York Giants linebacker Spencer Paysinger, is now in its seventh season and a sleeper hit for Netflix.
Off set, Chimechi supported himself as a certified trainer at Equinox and coaching clients at a Santa Monica boxing gym. A multi-sport athlete, he’d also boxed and practiced mixed martial arts through his youth.
Then in 2022, he got “blessed.” Responding to a casting notice for stunt wrestlers, he went to the tryouts. As he waited his turn, Chimechi recalls, “a director came up to me and said, ‘Wow, we like your look. Do you know how to act?’ I said, of course I know how to act!”
It was his very first audition. The part turned out to be a supporting role in the feature film, “Unstoppable,” a sports drama about NCAA champion wrestler Anthony Robles, who was born without one leg.
Chimechi sailed through the Zoom audition with Emmy-winning casting director Victoria Thomas and was invited back for an in-person meeting. He was surprised to find six others in the room, including Emmy-winning actor Jharrel Jerome, who plays the lead role, and Oscar-winning film editor William Goldenberg, who is making his directorial debut with “Unstoppable.”
Fortunately, Chimechi says, “I didn’t know who they all were until I looked them up afterwards.” Had he known, he might have choked. The audition went well, and within two weeks, he was hired.
In the movie, Chimechi plays Brian Corwin, the lead character’s friend and reassuring Arizona State teammate. The role involves numerous scenes on the mat, on the track and in the locker room. J.Lo. plays the protagonist’s hardworking mother. Bobby Cannavale, Michael Peña and Don Cheadle round out an ensemble cast, with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon as the top producers. Early reviews are mostly positive.
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Chimechi’s own story is pretty compelling. He was born and raised in Pittsburgh. His father, originally from Nigeria, was a retired international soccer player who supported his American wife and three sons as a professional coach. Chimechi, the youngest, was only five when his dad was killed in a mistaken identity incident. After his death, the Oparanozie family struggled financially.
At 18, Chimechi hit the road, couch-surfing from West Virginia to Ohio, New York and Arizona. “The desire to be an actor was always there,” he says. “I think that’s what kept moving me from place to place.”
He enrolled at SMC in 2016. The first two months in LA, he was homeless, living rent-free in a hostel on 4th Street. He credits kinesiology chair Elaine Roque and administrator Melissa Pardo with helping him feel part of a community and giving him a job as a student worker in the Athletics Department.
Chimechi started as a kinesiology major at SMC, but switched his focus to communications. Between his team commitments, student workload and campus job, he never had time for acting classes. But he studied on his own, watching Denzel Washington movies over and over, memorizing dialogue and re-enacting scenes in front of the mirror.
After two years at SMC, a football scholarship briefly took him to Ft. Lauderdale University as a transfer student, but by mid-semester he was back in LA, chasing his acting dreams.
He’d left SMC without a degree. “I’m very close, though,” he says, “and I’m about to go back to take acting classes really soon.”
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Lately the 27-year-old actor has been attending screenings of “Unstoppable,” including the Toronto Film Festival premiere in September, Tucson’s Loft Film Festival in mid-October, and the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in late November.
“There’s a lot happening without the movie even being out yet, so I can’t imagine what’s going to happen once it comes out,” he says.
He recently signed a contract with a manager from Untamed Artists Los Angeles, and is now on the lookout for an agency. His next project is already lined up: a lead in the upcoming television series “Call My Reps,” about a burned out social media star and his eccentric crew of Hollywood hopefuls. “I play the big goofy guy,” Chimechi says. Filming starts in December. He will also earn a producer credit alongside executive producers Jordan Wallace and Parker Sack, both actors he met on the set of “Unstoppable.”
He’s been to many auditions and is feeling optimistic about his future as an actor. “My goal right now is to land a bigger role than what I just did,” he says.
“Unstoppable” begins limited distribution in theaters in December, and makes its Amazon Prime streaming debut on January 16.
SMC Football Coach Kelly Ledwith reminisced about Chimechi’s journey—from the days he was a student athlete and a student worker in SMC’s Kinesiology/PE department. “Mechi worked so hard at getting better even though he was one of our most talented student-athletes. It has been fun to watch him going from short social media clips to these larger roles over the years. I can't wait to see what he does next.”
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SMC in Focus Volume X, Issue 6
Dream Chaser
SMC to Columbia transfer Hunter Doradea is one of just 11 students worldwide chosen to be a Future Nobel Laureate Scholar. Read Article
Fit for Hollywood
Chimechi Oparanozie. Remember that name. The erstwhile SMC multi-sport athlete is making his big play in the newly released wrestling movie, “Unstoppable.” Read Article
Hair, Hair! Barbering is Here
SMC’s Cosmetology Department now offers a degree and certificate in barbering, which prepares students for success in a rigorous, quickly changing field. Read Article
For Thaddeus, it’s Personal
Thaddeus Phillips, CalFresh project outreach manager, connects eligible SMC students with state-funded resources for groceries. He knows first-hand the difference it can make. Read Article
Bragging Rights
A counselor publishes a book to guide young adults starting their education/career. An Accounting prof. has a piece published about his journey from community college to Stanford. Read Article
Cultural Exchange
SMC student Aldo Barrera is teaching English in Spain, sharing his knowledge about the United States while learning about Spanish culture. Read Article