Augusta Mayor Appears In “The Blind Side”
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Augusta Mayor Appears In The Blind Side
An Augusta native is playing the lead role in what is being called one of the top ten movies of the year. The Blind Side opens Friday night, starring Glenn Hills graduate, Quinton Aaron, as Michael...
An Augusta native is playing the lead role in what is being called one of the top ten movies of the year. The Blind Side opens Friday night, starring Glenn Hills graduate, Quinton Aaron, as Michael Oher…a homeless teen adopted by a suburban family who earns a college scholarship and is now a rookie with the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL. Quinton played one year of football at Glenn Hills before graduating in ‘03, but he mostly sang in the choir and now he’s got his first major starring role alongside Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw. And, Quinton is not the only familiar face you will see in the film…Augusta Mayor Deke Copenhaver plays an assistant coach to former South Carolina coach, Lou Holtz. He spent a day in June filming his big scene…Barclay Bishop talked to him about how and why he went Hollywood.
Published: November 19, 2009
Updated: November 20, 2009
Augusta, GA—Tim McGraw, actor: “Michael’s grades have improved enough that he can go out for spring football in March.”
Deke Copenhaver, Mayor of Augusta: “The theme of the movie, you know, it’s all about racial reconciliation. Really, a lot of it was what the movie was about drew me in.”
It’s not the role that you normally would see Augusta Mayor Deke Copenhaver play. In the new movie “The Blind Side,“ you can catch this mayor on the big screen.
Mayor Copenhaver: “I am Lou Holtz’ assistant coach. I’m in one scene, I don’t have a speaking part, but apparently it’s a tight shot of myself, Lou, and another assistant coach. When I walked on the set, Lou Holtz goes, ‘I know you, you’re the mayor of Augusta,‘ and so that was probably one of my best memories of it.”
It took only a few takes for the hour he was on set, but the mayor says he’s hoping his favorite take with Holtz makes the cut.
Mayor Copenhaver: “He gave me a shout out. They shot it front on and from this way. So, he walks up and turns to me and he looks me in the face and he goes, ‘Deke, you need to get that kid for your family, this school, and for your job.‘“
Some perks came with the gig, including this jacket, a check, which the mayor donated to charity…and cast members wearing his ‘Do it Deke’ shirt.
Mayor Copenhaver: “There was an ulterior motive to me doing this, I’m trying to bring the movie industry to Augusta, I think we’ve got a great shot at it. And, I really think that this film is going to help us get that done.”
So what’s the future hold for this politician/actor?
Mayor Copenhaver: “I love to write, I’ve enjoyed doing these things. I tell people I didn’t grow up thinking I was going to be mayor, I didn’t grow up thinking I was going to be in a movie, so we’ll just see what the future brings.”
The mayor told me he got to pick which football coach he wanted to work with. He says he would have picked Mark Richt, but he wasn’t an option. This isn’t the mayor’s first rodeo; he was also in ‘Forces of Nature’ and a Titleist commercial.
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