What better way to elevate the voice of one of the best athletes of our time than with the powerful voice of one of the most respected actors of our time?
Netflix does just that in a new teaser for an upcoming documentary series about Simone Biles, who is the most decorated gymnast in history, by tapping Viola Davis to provide narration. As if that isn’t epic enough, Davis’ narration features lines from an influential voice in the literary world: the late Maya Angelou.
In “Simone Biles Rising,” which premieres July 17 on the streaming platform, Biles reflects on the struggles she experienced during the delayed 2020 Tokyo Games, as she also looks ahead to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Davis reads an excerpt from Angelou’s “Still I Rise,” which is also one of Biles’ favorite poems, in the poignant teaser.
“Did you want to see me broken?” Davis’ voice begins, over a clip of Biles in white athletic gear staring straight into the camera.
“Bowed head and lowered eyes/ Shoulders fallen down like teardrops, weakened by my soulful cries,” she continues while a clip displays of Biles at the Tokyo Games, landing after an apparent bout of “the twisties,” before flashing to other shots of the gymnast at work, and, finally, shedding tears.
Biles withdrew from individual and team gymnastics events in Tokyo after she experienced the twisties, which is a phenomenon that occurs when gymnasts lose a sense of where they are and how they will land while in the air. Afterward, she was honest about her mental health struggles, which she will also address in the docuseries.
“Just like moons and like suns/ With the certainty of tides,” Davis says over footage of Biles outdoors.
“Just like hopes springing high/ Still, I rise,” she concludes as video rolls of Biles during happier times, like on her wedding day with husband Jonathan Owens and on the top of the podium.
The teaser closes with footage of Biles nailing moves in the gym, something gymnastics fans recently saw her do a few weeks ago when she made the Olympic team.
Davis has also previously expressed her support for Biles, sharing a message to the gymnast on her Instagram page amid the Tokyo Olympics.
"Always a champion. Always a gamechanger, a rule breaker. Always a consummate teammate.....a bastion of support....You have shifted the sport and reminded us what it means to be HUMAN...and because of all this...you will be remembered," the actor wrote in part in July 2021.
The final words in the trailer are especially significant to Biles.
She has a tattoo on her collarbone with the words “and still I rise.”
In another clip from the documentary series, Biles explains what the tattoo means to her, saying it is “perfect” because it’s the “epitome” of her career and life story since she always rises to the occasion.
Biles also has a few other tattoos, including the Olympic rings, which she got after the 2016 Rio Olympics.
