This Oscar season, Paramount may have found one in David Corenswet. The New York Giants took John Tuggle with the 335th pick of the 1983 NFL Draft and that’s how the running back from California became “Mr. Irrelevant,” the nickname given to the final player selected each year.
It’s also the title of a movie that could put Corenswet squarely in the awards conversation, if it becomes the kind of crowd-pleasing box-office hit that Hollywood can’t ignore. Irrelevant” screened at the New York Sports Legend Tastemaker, hosted by former Giants quarterback Phil Simms. Giants icons Leonard Marshall, Bill Ard and Amani Toomer were in attendance, who all played alongside Tuggle, who spent one season in the NFL.
Also on hand were director Jonathan Levine and cast members Corenswet, Isabel May, who plays Tuggle’s wife, Katie; David Krumholtz, who plays Tuggle’s driver, Whitey; and Michael Shannon, who portrays legendary Giants coach Bill Parcells. Simms moderated a post-screening Q&A with the filmmakers. Irrelevant” tells the true story of Tuggle (Corenswet), the last player selected in the 1983 NFL Draft, who fought his way onto the Giants’ roster and became a key special-teams contributor.
Under first-year head coach Parcells (Shannon), Tuggle would inspire and go on to prove that being the last player picked didn’t mean doesn’t mean being the least important. Levine, who already demonstrated with “50/50” that he can make a cancer story funny before breaking your heart, directs from a script by “Reacher” showrunner Nick Santora. It’s been reported that megastar Tom Cruise saw a cut of “Mr.
Irrelevant” and was so impressed it held to Levine being hired for his “Days of Thunder” sequel, which is scheduled to release in 2028. I went in bracing for a generic sports movie, but came out reaching for a tissue box. That emotional reaction is the film’s biggest Oscar asset.
Corenswet plays Tuggle from the draft’s aftermath through his unlikely rise to the Giants’ 53-man roster, where he played all 16 games and was named the team’s special teams player of the year. And then, during the 1984 offseason, Tuggle, only 23 at the time, learns that he has angiosarcoma, a rare cancer of the blood vessels. What Corenswet does with that arc is why we’re having an Oscar discussion.
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