From the Tennis Court to New York: Exploring John McEnroe’s Life

Factual America

John McEnroe’s volcanic temper on the tennis court is legendary. But there was always more to him than just the explosive outbursts.

In McEnroe, a documentary now available to watch on Sky Documentaries and streaming service NOW, John McEnroe takes a night time journey through his home town of New York, reflecting on, discussing, and interrogating his life on and off the court.

Joining Matthew Sherwood is the film’s director Barney Douglas. He shares how McEnroe has changed from his wilder, younger self, the triggers that still make him a challenging person to be with, and how McEnroe sees himself in relation to today’s tennis super stars.

Barney also discusses McEnroe’s ‘New Yorker perspective’ as a tennis player, his relationship with his father, and how it influences his relationship with his children.

The picture that Barney builds of John McEnroe is of a complex individual, one for whom connection and communication is important, who was an entertainer as well as a highly strung sportsman, and who is a thinker, not just a slave to his emotions.

In addition to discussing John McEnroe, Barney pulls back the veil on how he made his film: inevitably, Covid looms large, but so do exorbitant fees for archive footage; he had to make sure he asked McEnroe the right questions, and then, there is the use of animations inspired by Tron of all films.

McEnroe is a film that is built different, just like its star. In his short career, Barney Douglas has already made two other accomplished sporting documentaries – Warriors and The Edge – thus showing himself to be the right man to help John McEnroe tell his story.

Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com

“[He is] very authentic... there’s nothing Machiavellian about McEnroe. For good or bad, you know he will be very true to how he feels, and that's actually... a very endearing quality.” – Barney Douglas