Southpaw, the boxing movie is getting a lot of buzz for the star Jake Gyllenhaal. But folks in Middle Georgia have another reason to buzz. Cedric Jones, a Maconite, scored a roll in the blockbuster.

In a phone interview from the set of a new movie he's working on in Louisiana, Jones said working on Southpaw was a tough, but a rewarding experience. "Every morning me and Jake were up doing our runs, one-thousand sit ups. He really worked hard and I worked hard right beside him", he said.

Jones attended Progressive Christian Academy in Macon where he started acting. "We did something called Rainbow Connection." Jones went on to attend Central High School where he says he was "a class clown." After being encouraged to do something with his talent, Jones made the decision to head to Los Angeles with only $1,000 in his pocket. Jones said he experienced homelessness, but refused to quit. Now 10 years later he has landed a role in one of the biggest movies of the summer.

Next up for Jones is the movie Magnificent Seven staring Denzel Washington. The film, directed by Antoine Fuqua, is about seven gun men in the old west who gradually come together to help a poor village against savage thieves.

Hear the interview with Jones above.

Tags: Southpaw, Leah Fleming, Cedric Jones, film