3 weeks ago
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By Shauna Stuart | For the Birmingham Times
Wes Miller and Leon Robinson knew they had to bring their legal thriller “Wildcards” to Birmingham.
The film is currently on an advance screening tour across the country, ahead of its official release in 2027. Miller and Robinson wanted the tour to include stops in cities that played a vital role in the civil rights movement. In August, they screened “Wildcards” in Greensboro, North Carolina at the International Civil Rights Center and Museum. The building — and national landmark — houses the original F.W. Woolworth’s Dime store, the site of the 1960 Greensboro Four sit ins.
Miller grew up in Memphis, another key city in the civil rights movement, and he’s familiar with Birmingham’s history.
“We know about the bombings, we know about Dr. King’s legacy here, and we know there was a very vibrant arts district back in the day,” Miller told the Birmingham Times during an interview at the Carver Theatre.
He knew the Carver Theatre was one of the first movie theaters for Black audiences in Birmingham. But when he arrived at the theatre in late September for the “Wildcards” screening in the city, he was captivated by other facts about the venue’s history and the artifacts in the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame Museum.
“I’ve learned so much about this building,” said Miller as he stepped outside of the Carver on a Friday afternoon to take a picture of the “Wildcards” promotion on the theatre marquee.
Wes Miller takes a photograph of the “Wildcards” marquee on the Carver Theatre on Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. (Shauna Stuart, For The Birmingham Times)Robinson, “Wildcards” co-producer and one of the film’s lead actors, also has an interest in a more unsung part of Birmingham’s history.
“You have some musical legends that have come here from Birmingham, and it’s something that I actually would like to explore more.”
One item on Robinson’s agenda: visiting the bronze sculpture of The Temptations at Eddie Kendrick Memorial Park.
Naturally, it’s a monument that would be close to Robinson’s heart. He played legendary tenor David Ruffin in “The Temptations,” NBC’s 1998 mini series about the iconic Motown group, one of his most famous roles to date.
Robinson learned about the sculpture that Friday. Earlier that day, he took time to walk down 4th Avenue and visit some of the businesses. He stopped into Magic City Barber Shop & Shave Parlor to greet people and tell them about the “Wildcards” screening happening up the street. That’s when they told him about the park.
“They lost their minds,” Robinson said, breaking into another smile. “The barbershop has always been a place in every community where we, especially us men, gather and talk and share stories and stuff. So I’m glad I could be their story for the day.”
Leon Robinson and Wes Miller speak during an interview in the lobby of the Carver Theatre on Sept. 25, 2026. (Marika Johnson, For The Birmingham Times)More Than a Legal Drama
Miller and Robinson started working together in 2021. Miller had just reworked the script for his action film “A Day to Die” and hoped to cast Robinson.
For Miller, Robinson — the celebrated star known for his roles in “Cool Runnings,” “Above the Rim,” “The Five Heartbeats,” and “Little Richard” — would have been a dream casting. Their teams connected, and Miller and Robinson spoke via Zoom. Robinson, said Miller, humanized one of the film’s villain characters, bringing a new level of depth to the role.
The duo bonded over creating multi-dimensional characters and kept in contact, hoping to collaborate on another project. Years later, the men were in Orlando and Robinson challenged Miller to develop an “actors piece,” or a film that paid homage to theatre. So Miller got to work.
He wanted to set the film in a courthouse during a trial. Miller, a former civil rights attorney, decided to base the film on the most stressful aspect of his career as a lawyer– waiting for the jury to decide a verdict. He also wanted the film to examine the dynamics of race and power, so he developed an initial script featuring a Black defendant and a white female victim. But when Miller presented the idea, Robinson told him to flip the concept. So Miller went back to the drawing board.
The result is “Wildcards,” a legal drama set in a fictional town in Florida that follows the trial of Theodore Sterling, a rich, young white man from a prominent family accused of sexually assaulting Amber, a young Black woman. The film stars Aries Spears as James Jones, an anxious prosecutor and Robinson as a slick, confident veteran defense attorney named Greg Sims. As tensions escalate between Jones and Sims, the case takes a turn when a mysterious “wildcard” witness arrives, who claims to know the truth about the alleged assault.
“My character is someone who is an attorney who hasn’t lost a case in over two decades and someone who is paid a great deal of money to represent a client that he may not particularly care for, but winning is everything,” said Robinson.
To prepare for the role, Robinson watched courtroom dramas and studied court cases.
“This is a courtroom drama, but it’s also cinema. And what I’m going to give you is a cinematic performance,” said Robinson. “Playing an attorney is something that I’ve wanted to do. I’ve always wanted to be that courtroom attorney.”
In fact, at one point in his life, Robinson considered becoming a lawyer.
“That’s what I thought I wanted to do when I was a kid, until I realized I had to go to school too long,” he said, laughing.
In “Wildcards” Miller also wanted to address ongoing social problems in America through the eyes of six jurors of different races and ethnicities as they clashed over deciding the verdict.
The jurors often trade insults about racial stereotypes. In one scene, tensions are already running high when juror number one, a Black woman named Karla (played by Elise Neal) tells juror number three, a Vietnamese man named Nguyen Huu Anh (played by Han Soto), that he has no idea how race relations work in America.
When Nguyen Huu Anh tells Karla, “You have no idea how good you have it,” Karla has a fiery response: “Was your great-great grandfather lynched in the middle of a Florida town square just for trying to vote?”
The line is a reference to the 1920 Ocoee Election Day Massacre in Orange County, Fla., when an angry white mob lynched the friend of a Black man who attempted to vote, then later murdered 30 Black people and burned their homes. Historians call the massacre one of the “bloodiest days in American political history.”
Miller, who used to live in Ocoee, says he wanted the scene to be a teachable moment.
“No matter how much some people want to try to erase history, you cannot do so,” said Miller. “I felt like that was an opportunity to use her (character) to educate other people who may not know about that incident.”
While “Wildcards” acknowledges news events– in one scene, a juror mentions the 2006 Duke Lacrosse rape hoax — Miller says he didn’t base the film’s screenplay off specific headlines or high-profile trials, but rather responses to certain cultural shifts, such as the “Me Too” movement that gained momentum on social media in 2017.
A Night in Birmingham
On a Friday night in late September, an enthusiastic audience lined the lower-level seats in the Carver performance hall for the screening of “Wildcards.” Attendees– including the Magic City Bar Association, law students, and members of Phi Beta Sigma and Zeta Phi Beta– filled the theatre with both laughter and grunts of disapproval as they watched the “Wildcards” jury bicker.
A post-film conversation followed the screening, featuring Miller, Robinson, attorney Johnathan F. Austin, the founder of Austin Law P.C. and a former Birmingham City Council President, and EJ Turner, a recent Cumberland School of Law graduate and former executive assistant to Mayor Randall Woodfin. Moderated by veteran radio personality and host Isis M. Jones, the panel discussed high-profile news stories, the importance of jury duty, and how Miller’s experience as an attorney influenced the film.
From left, EJ Turner, Johnathan F. Austin, Leon Robinson, Wes Miller, and Isis M. Jones pose for a photograph after the screening of “Wildcards” at the Carver Theatre. (Marika Johnson, For The Birmingham Times)During the audience question-and-answer session, attendees asked questions about the film, the legal industry, and the entertainment business. They also showered Robinson with praise and well-wishes.
One of the biggest compliments came from Jerome McKinney, one of the barbers from Magic City Barber Shop & Shave Parlor, who was excited to see Robinson when he stopped into the shop earlier that day.
“We used to play basketball in the 70s together,” McKinney told the audience. “He truly is a real basketball player, and he really does play. When you see him playing in ‘Above the Rim,’ that really is him. He got a full scholarship to play basketball in California and he’s still in really good shape.”
“I’ve got a belly. But he doesn’t have a belly yet. The kid still looks good,” said McKinney, laughing as he gestured to Robinson on stage.
The screening that night echoed a clear sentiment: Birmingham loves Leon Robinson.
“I’ve always wanted to be known for my characters”
Earlier that afternoon, on a walk down the block from The Carver Theatre to Eddie Kendrick Memorial Park, Robinson and Miller passed by the Civil Rights Activists Committee Headquarters while Paulette Roby — the committee chair and an activist who marched in the Children’s Crusade of 1963, was opening the doors.
Roby immediately recognized Robinson. Excited, she invited them inside to talk about the history of the headquarters, look at memorabilia, and sign the committee guest book. Outside, fans who noticed Robinson walking down the sidewalk gathered shyly near the door for the chance to greet him and take photos.
Leon Robinson poses with Foot Solider Paulette Roby at the Civil Rights Activists Committee headquarters in Birmingham. (Marika Johnson, For The Birmingham Times)Later, as Miller and Robinson walked back from the park, one of the shop owners turned on the Temptations’ “My Girl” to accompany them as they walked down 4th Avenue to return to the Carver. The music wafting out of the speakers was a celebratory homage to Robinson’s film legacy.
It’s an appreciation Robinson doesn’t take lightly.
Over the past few years, references to “The Temptations” series have reemerged, with social media putting them back in the spotlight. One scene in particular: the heated argument between David Ruffin and Otis Williams (played by Charles Malik Whitfield) as they quarrel about Ruffin’s future in the group. Ruffin’s legendary retorts, “Ain’t nobody comin’ to see you, Otis” and the famously ad-libbed “I’m the one sellin’ the records,” have taken on a life of their own, further cementing them in the lexicon of cinema pop culture.
A simple search pulls up hundreds of memes and clips of Robinson’s David Ruffin on Instagram and Tik Tok. Some A.I.-generated spoofs even feature Jim Carey as David Ruffin. Robinson has seen a lot of them. And appreciates almost all of it.
“I think I might be the most memed actor in the world,” said Robinson, laughing. “The one thing I have to say is — imitation is the finest form of flattery.”
He’s also used to fans yelling out lines from his movies when they see him in public.
“I was in the bathroom today. I mean, literally, I’m in the bathroom today trying to take care of my business, and I hear a brother walk in. I guess he saw me and walked into the bathroom and says, ‘I’m the one selling the records! He just kept repeating it. I’m like, ‘Oh God, man.’ I love it.”
For Robinson, the recognition is the mark of a storied career.
“I’ve always wanted to be known for my characters and not who I am. I’ve been a private person most of my life. It’s hard in this social media age to remain as private as I like to,” said Robinson. “I want people to know me from my characters that I play because that means that obviously something has touched them. What more could I ask for?”
