Alabama football coach Nick Saban appeared in the 2009 hit film “The Blind Side,” which told the story of Michael Oher’s rise from homeless teen to standout college football player.
In the movie, Saban had to portray himself in a former gig: head coach of the LSU Tigers.
Because of that, Saban almost refused to be a part of the film.
But ultimately, Saban agreed to appear with one stipulation. The Crimson Tide leading mean would only appear in the movie if he did not have to wear LSU gear. Saban simply didn’t want to upset the fans of his new team.
“I did no acting in ‘The Blind Side.’ It was not considered acting,” Saban said, via Marq Burnett of SEC Country. “They gave me a script, the director gave me a script. I didn’t want to be in the movie because I was the coach here (Alabama), and I was the coach at LSU in the movie so I thought the fans here would all get mad at me if I was the LSU coach in a movie.
“So I refused and Fred Smith, who was a pretty powerful guy with FedEx and all that, produced the movie and talked me into doing it. I told him I’d do it, but I’m not going to wear LSU clothes. He said ok. Then the director comes in and gives me a script and says ‘Ok, here’s your lines. Here’s what we want you to say.’ I said, ‘Hey buddy, I was there. I did this.'”
Saban also noted in the interview that he went off script for his scene.
Rather than going with what the filmmakers thought would look good on the silver screen, Saban preferred authenticity and simply went with what he told Oher and his family on the actual visit.
It all worked out in the long run, as the film was a smashing success and Saban didn’t upset any Alabama fans by wearing LSU gear.
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