Like many of us, Justin Best saw The Social Network, the 2010 David Fincher-directed drama about the founding of Facebook. But unlike many of us, it led to him becoming a world-class athlete.
In a recent interview with PEOPLE, Best revealed the happenstance way that the movie sparked him to take up rowing years ago, a sport in which he’d ultimately win a gold medal at the Paris Olympics.
“I was in between sports and I was going into my freshman year of high school and I had gotten a concussion in football, and I was like, ‘No more football,'” Best recalled to PEOPLE. “So my parents were watching The Social Network one summer night. And obviously the Winklevoss twins are portrayed, and they are rowers by nature. And so my parents were like, ‘Hey, Justin has a similar body type to the actor who portrayed them.'”
Joe Scarnici/Getty; Merrick Morton/Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett
That actor was Armie Hammer, who played the double role of twin brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. In the film, which screenwriter Aaron Sorkin adapted from Ben Mezrich’s book The Accidental Billionaires, the Winklevosses allege that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has stolen their idea for the social networking site.
At one point the brothers are also shown rowing, as they competed on Harvard’s crew team and at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
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But back to Best, whose parents were convinced their son could excel at the no-contact sport. “They Googled rowing clubs and signed me up for Learn to Row in northern Delaware and Wilmington, called Newport Rowing Club,” he said. “And got my first week with rowing camp.”
Last week, Best and teammates Nick Mead, Michael Grady, and Liam Corrigan won the U.S. its first gold medal in men’s four rowing in 64 years. And on Monday, Best celebrated by proposing to his girlfriend, Lainey Duncan, on the Today show (she accepted).
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While The Social Network was a breakout film for Hammer, leading to awards and roles in projects such as 2017’s Call Me By Your Name, he has since found Hollywood jobs tough to come by.
In recent years the actor was accused of rape and abuse by multiple women and was dropped from several projects. He has denied the allegations and said that whatever transpired was consensual. After investigating, the Los Angeles Police Department opted not to bring criminal charges against him.
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