Jan. 10, 2006

 Lucas talks to MSN's Dish Diva

Lady luck hasn't been that kind to actor Josh Lucas recently. His last five films (including "Stealth" and "An Unfinished Life") have all been bombs and he just sustained a major injury on the upcoming disaster flick "Poseidon" (more on that later). This wasn't what many moviegoers expected after Lucas charmed the pants off Reese Witherspoon in "Sweet Home Alabama." With his new flick "Glory Road," however, Lucas' career may finally be ready for some smooth sailing.

Playing the legendary Texas Western University (known today as the University of Texas-El Paso) coach Don Haskins wasn't an easy task for Lucas. He spent a lot of time with the Basketball Hall of Fame member and his associates to try to absorb as much of the style and mannerisms of Haskins as he could, because as Lucas notes "there wasn't a lot of footage of him as a coach" that he could watch.

"He coached in this unique way," Lucas says. "He has this extreme rage that came out on the court. He called time-outs in a really weird way."

Haskins is also a very humble man. And while he supported the movie's chronicling of his 1966 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship winning team, he doesn't like to publicly admit that what they achieved was that important. What Haskins did do was break a major color barrier for African-American players by starting five of them in a National Championship game. Up until that time, a not-so-subtle racism would allow only one or two black players on the court at a time. Lucas also knows one of the real reasons why Haskins persevered in his quiet fight for equality.

"The true story is that Haskins had a best friend growing up who was black who didn't get recruited [and he did]," Lucas says. "His friend was a better player than him and it enraged Haskins. He knew what he was doing [in the NCAA championship]."

Lucas was so committed to the part that he gained 43 pounds to try and mimic Haskins' appearance. He amazingly lost most of it, but on "Poseidon" his luck ran out. The actor took a bad fall during a stunt and tore a muscle in one of his hands. Lucas says it will take six months to a year until it heals, but he has no regrets about the injury, as it will give him the excuse to take a long-deserved break. He's also glad it happened on a movie he's proud of like "Poseidon."

"The problem with 'Stealth' and so many other movies is that they are so CGI oriented," Lucas says. "On 'Poseidon,' [director Wolfgang Petersen] created sets that are actually imploding and on fire. All that stuff is real, so you spend your day reacting, because you're being blasted by a water cannon."

It sounds like audiences may have two good reasons to see Lucas on screen this year.

"Glory Road" opens nationwide on Jan. 13.