The ascent from starring on a hit television show to booking the lead in a buzzy film has become increasingly common with this new class of movie stars. But where things went drastically different for actress Ryan Destiny is that her Independent Spirit Award-nominated performance in boxing biopic “ The Fire Inside ” was five years in the making—delayed by a global pandemic, the film going into turnaround, a new studio picking it up, and her primary scene partner being recast. Speaking to IndieWire over Zoom about her turn in Oscar-nominated cinematographer Rachel Morrison ’s directorial debut as Olympic champion boxer Claressa Shields, the only American in her sport to win back-to-back gold medals, Destiny said “I definitely didn’t think I would get it.
Because I knew it was so competitive. Something like this, a project like this, especially with Barry Jenkins attached and Rachel attached, and the studio at that time, Universal was attached—all of the things. This is a dream role for a lot of people, including myself.
So I didn’t think that they would look twice at me to be quite honest.” Being first cast for the project, then known as “Flint Strong,” in 2019, the Detroit native was fresh off of a lead role in Fox’s musical drama “Star,” created by Lee Daniels. She had lined up a pivotal recurring role in the Freeform sitcom “Grown-ish,” to air in early 2020, but the project penned by Oscar winner Jenkins was meant to serve as her big break in.