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'Enigma' Director Breaks Down What People Get Wrong About Aaron Rodgers

'Enigma's' director came away with this takeaway from filming with Aaron Rodgers.

Eva Geitheim

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers. / Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images
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Gotham Chopra got an up close look at the life of Aaron Rodgers like few others while directing Aaron Rodgers: Enigma. Through filming the Netflix docuseries, Chopra gained insight on Rodgers's career, his recovery from a torn achilles, and explored his spiritual journey and usage of alternative medicine among other facets of his life.

Through his time directing the docuseries about Rodgers, Chopra found that one misconception of the star quarterback and four-time NFL MVP stood out above the rest.

"That he doesn't care," Chopra told Kay Adams on the Up & Adams Show, when asked what people get wrong about Rodgers. "That he's so aloof that it doesn't bother him, that he's not paying attention, that he doesn't have good relationships with his teammates. I was around him ... he has great relationships. All the people we talked to, especially going back to the Green Bay days, there was deep affection for him.

"This idea that he's so aloof that he doesn't care is a misconception," Chopra continued. "He cares. He's obviously super competitive. Last season, he had ambitions and goals. He worked really hard physically, mentally, emotionally to come back from a pretty dark injury, when you get hurt at 39 years old, that type of injury and you commit to coming back and it doesn't go well ... I think it was really difficult. People assumed certain things and don't know how much it pained him to go through that experience."

Chopra also acknowledged that Rodgers is outspoken and reactive, which in turn can contribute to those misconceptions. He admits he doesn't think he fully understands Rodgers yet, believing Rodgers keeps people "at arms length." At the least, he feels that Rodgers does indeed care.

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Eva Geitheim
EVA GEITHEIM

Eva Geitheim is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in December 2024, she wrote for Newsweek, Gymnastics Now and Dodgers Nation. A Bay Area native, she has a bachelor's in communications from UCLA. When not writing, she can be found baking or re-watching Gilmore Girls.

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