Suns star Steve Nash makes director debut with documentary about fellow Canadian Terry Fox

Steve Nash debuts as director with documentary

Six-year-old Steve Nash woke up every morning eager to turn on the TV to see where Terry was.

Like Canadians young and old, the future NBA star was captivated in 1980 by Terry Fox’s determination to hobble across the country on his artificial leg to raise money for cancer research.

Now that Nash is adding documentary director to his eclectic list of interests, the subject of his first film was natural.

“Into the Wind” airs Tuesday on ESPN as part of the network’s “30 for 30″ series. It has already been shown at the Toronto International Film Festival and on Canadian television.

The 21-year-old Fox, who had lost his right leg to cancer, ran for 143 days, crossing two-thirds of the country on his Marathon of Hope. He never completed the trip, halted by newly discovered tumors, and died in June 1981.

Nash said on a conference call Wednesday he was fascinated by “the conflict between being this humble, quiet kid who wanted to shy away from the spotlight, and at the same time his quest was built on attention.”

The two-time MVP co-directed the film with Ezra Holland, his cousin and business partner in production company Meathawk.

“Hopefully this is the first of many,” Nash said.

Those many may have to wait. The 36-year-old Nash is signed with the Phoenix Suns for two more seasons, and he said “I would probably bet that I’d play more.”

For now he’s thrilled to get his start as a director while he’s still playing. Renowned for his decision-making and vision as a point guard, he found those the greatest challenges in the world of film.

“You’re always questioning your decisions,” Nash said. “You have a clear vision of how you want it to go. You try your best to execute it to the intent, but you continually question whether that’s the right way to go. Just trying to find a balance between being positive and progressively critical and at the same time not debilitating yourself or overanalyzing.”