Who produced the biopic on Saraya's (fka Paige) in-ring background? Insight into the AEW star's contributions to 'Fighting with My Family'
Fighting with My Family is a biopic on the journey and career of former WWE Superstar Paige (Saraya in AEW). The film became an instant success with fans and peers alike for a multitude of reasons when it was released in 2019. Critics thoroughly praised the film for its screenplay. The cast, including lead actor Florence Pugh, garnered widespread acclaim for her acting as well.
For those not in the know, Paige's biopic Fighting with My Family was produced by The Rock himself. The Great One co-produced the biopic with acclaimed British actor Stephen Merchant. In addition to being a co-producer, Merchant wrote the screenplay and directed the film.
The Rock, on the other hand, had a cameo in the film where he played himself. Other superstars who have appeared in Fighting with My Family as themselves include The Miz and Mark Henry.
To prepare herself for the role in Paige's biopic, Pugh watched tapes from the former's pro wrestling career. The actress adopted Saraya's in-ring and real-life mannerisms to properly capture the essence of the incredibly-challenging role.
Pugh's performance garnered lavish praise from Saraya's father, Ricky Knight. In an interview with Sportskeeda Wrestling in October 2022, Knight commented on the actor's portrayal of Paige. He also praised Jack Lowden, Lena Headey, and Nick Frost for their Fighting with My Family performances.
“The girl [Florence Pugh] I thought was absolutely believable," Knight said. "When the lad [Jack Lowden] came in playing Zak, I thought, 'Hmm, he looks a bit small,' but he went to the gym and put some muscle on and stuff, and he played Zak perfectly. Obviously, the guy who played me, I made him famous! Nick Frost. But yeah, Nick was great. He told me he didn't want to play me, he wanted to do a caricature of me, which I thought he did really well, and I thought Lena Headey was superb as Jules [Sweet Saraya]." [6:22 - 6:53]
How historically accurate is Paige's biopic Fighting with My Family?
Fighting with My Family, like most biopics, took several liberties with Saraya's journey to WWE, where she was known as Paige. The biopic put NXT as the beginning of her WWE career. In reality, the star learned WWE's way of doing things at Florida Championship Wrestling before the territory eventually got rebranded into NXT.
Paige's biopic showed the star and her brother bumping into The Rock. This is another major inconsistency because the three never met while Saraya was in the developmental.
In fact, The Rock's first interaction with Saraya transpired after he watched the original documentary in 2012. Having said that, the film is a great watch and needs to be on the bucket list of every fan.
Have you watched Fighting with My Family? Let us know in the comments section below.