John Tuggle is trending again, four decades after his death – because Hollywood finally made his movie. Paramount and Skydance Sports have released the first trailer for Mr. Irrelevant, a biopic about the late New York Giants running back starring David Corenswet – the new Superman – with Michael Shannon playing a young Bill Parcells. It arrives in theaters on Christmas Day.
Who was John Tuggle?
Tuggle was the final pick of the final round in the 1983 NFL draft – the slot nicknamed “Mr. Irrelevant,” usually a one-way ticket to a roster cut. Instead, the running back made the Giants under first-year head coach Bill Parcells, earning his roster spot the hard way and the respect of the locker room. Then came the turn: lingering shoulder pain after a minor car crash led to a cancer diagnosis in 1984. He fought the disease for two years and died on August 30, 1986, at age 25 – just months before the Giants won Super Bowl XXI. Teammates and coaches have long pointed to his fight as an inspiration behind that championship season.
The movie
Directed by Jonathan Levine (50/50, Nine Perfect Strangers) from a script by Nick Santora (Reacher, FUBAR), Mr. Irrelevant follows Tuggle’s final years: the improbable roster bid, the bond with Parcells, a newfound love played by Isabel May, and the illness he refused to let define him. The supporting cast includes David Krumholtz, Tuwaine Barrett and Tandi Wright. Variety describes Corenswet’s Tuggle toughing and smiling his way to the NFL as the last man drafted.
A fitting piece of casting
There is quiet poetry here: Corenswet, who inherited Superman’s cape, plays the league’s gentlest underdog – opposite Shannon, the actor who once played General Zod in Man of Steel. A superman reunion pointing the other direction this time: not superpowers, but the ordinary kind of courage.
Why the story endures
“Mr. Irrelevant” was never really his nickname to keep – Tuggle made it mean something. The Christmas Day release positions the film as awards-season family fare in the tradition of great sports tearjerkers, and the early trailer coverage suggests audiences will know his name by the new year. Forty years on, the last pick of 1983 finally gets his premiere.
Sources: GeekTyrant; Variety; Newsday; USA Today Touchdown Wire; Deadline. Featured image: illustrative football photo (Scott Stadium), CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.