“What would it be like to grow up in a society that said you cannot be who you are?” A provocative premise to derive from a sports documentary, or at least one ostensibly about sports, and not an entirely expected one. Yet, for many, such a thought lies at the heart of a life lived in fear and self-doubt. It is what Winter Olympic gold medal-winning ice skater John Curry created from these potentially self-destructive qualities that inspired Emmy-nominated director James Erskine to explore his life and career in The Ice King, a new documentary due for release in the UK on February 23rd.

Curry earned his status as an international sports celebrity through the early 1970s as a revolutionary character in figure skating, transforming the sport from a simple display of physical prowess into an art form. He won Olympic, World, European and British Championship medals, permanently changing the worldwide public’s perception of the sport. Yet Erskine recalls his recollection of Curry as being only vague prior to embarking on the documentary, with his primary inspiration coming from author Bill Jones’ 2014 book, Alone: The Triumph and Tragedy of John Curry: “This was an amazing story and I thought, ‘I must make it!’” [Read more…]