Former NFL WR Matthew Cherry Got Nominated for an Oscar
By Jackson Thompson
Matthew A. Cherry never caught a pass in the NFL, but is now putting his hands to use crafting Oscar nominees as a film maker.
Today, Cherry's animated short "Hair Love" received an Oscar nomination for best animated short film. The seven-minute short centers on a young African American girl who looks to her father for help in styling her unique hair.
Cherry began production on Hair Love in 2017, 10 years after he walked away from the NFL. The project began on Kickstarter with a story pitch and a $75,000 fundraising goal. It raised over $300,000 becoming the highest-funded animated short project in the history of the platform.
Wow! And to have @IssaRae announce it! It feels like a dream. Huge thanks to our great team @BruceAlmighteee @Mr_Scribbles @KDRupe @Monica_aYoung @DanielDCrawford @LionForgeDave @CarlForge @lionforge our kickstarter backers & @SonyAnimation for believing in us. @TheAcademy pic.twitter.com/2sVn7LqWk9
— Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) January 13, 2020
Two years later, the nomination marks an apex in Cherry's film-making career, one that has since surpassed his time in the NFL.
In 2004, Cherry earned a spot on the Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad after an impressive three-year college career at Akron. The next year he made it onto the Cincinnati Bengals' roster but never advanced from there.
.@MatthewACherry on #Oscars, says #HairLove "allowed us to tackle the negative societal stereotypes around natural hair & black fathers, & to normalize the depiction of a loving black family that we know so well & yet have seen so little of in media" https://t.co/dDPiB3KxAg pic.twitter.com/abWqUuwue6
— Variety (@Variety) January 13, 2020
Cherry eventually walked away from football in 2007 with a $30,000 pretax settlement.
He took that money to Los Angeles where he spent the next 12 years trying to break into the entertainment industry, with nothing but three years of NFL experience and a bachelors degree in media to his name. Unlike other NFL stars to break into the entertainment industry like Rob Gronkowski, Cherry's ambitions did not come easily, and even endured a stint of unemployment.
It looks like his efforts have paid off, however, as after the long grind, his animated short is receiving recognition at the highest level.