‘This is an opportunity for me to show people like who actually I am’ – Ben Stokes on the release of his Documentary
England Test skipper and Superstar batter Ben Stokes is set to have a documentary about his life and career. Titled “Ben Stokes: Phoenix from the Ashes”, the documentary will showcase the highs and lows of an eventful career for the all-rounder. Right from being hit for four sixes by Carlos Brathwaite in the 2016 T20 World Cup final to leading England to the 2019 Cricket World Cup victory on home soil and the Headingley Test miracle.
The documentary further provides insight into Stokes’ battle with mental health, which made him take a break from the game for four months. It gives the viewers an in-depth look into what the all-rounder went through mentally, apart from dealing with the demise of his father Ged in 2020.
The documentary was directed by the acclaimed director Sam Mendes and features on-screen to discuss the highs and lows of Stokes’ life and career across a series of interviews.
In a select virtual media interaction, Stokes revealed it wasn’t that hard for him to be vocal about his emotions in the documentary as he was motivated by the chance to show his real self to the world.
“When I decided that it is something that I need to do in terms of making a documentary, I specifically said I don’t want this to be a documentary where it is all about making myself look good. This is an opportunity for me to show people like who actually I am because I think very rarely that sportsmen are able to do that.
“Sportsmen are painted a picture by what people see them on TV by playing or in media or in conferences and stuff like that. It is very rare that you see them in their own space and in their own comfortable environment. But I felt the responsibility and was clear that everything is going to be there. Not just to maybe look good, because I have had so many things in my career, not just in cricket but also from the personal life.
“Why I felt like sharing with people is because if I didn’t do that, people would be like ‘Why hasn’t he spoken about that?’ Such a public thing, from the T20 World Cup to Bristol to the break I took for mental health. If I didn’t cover that, I wouldn’t have been doing any justice. I just wanted to make sure that everything was covered in the documentary as much as it could be.”
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