In his first season as an NFL starting quarterback for the St. Louis Rams in 1999, Kurt Warner rose from obscurity to lead the team to a Super Bowl victory and a league and Super Bowl MVP title. The accomplishments didn’t come easy, however. He overcame adversity with the support of his Marine veteran wife, Brenda, and their story is portrayed in the upcoming film, “American Underdog.”

The film, set to release on Wednesday, Dec. 22, tells not only the story of Warner (played by actor Zachary Levi) and his rise to football fame, but his relationship with his wife Brenda (played by Academy Award-winning actress Anna Paquin), a U.S. Marine veteran. Ahead of its release, American Military News interviewed Brenda Warner and the film’s directors.

The movie covers Warner’s journey from his final games as a player for the University of Northern Iowa. It is around this time in his story that Kurt met Brenda, a retired U.S. Marine who had aspirations for a full military career but who had to cut those plans short after one of her children was brain damaged and blinded after being accidentally dropped by her ex-husband.