PHOENIX—Film study at Simeon Rice’s house starts nervously. Fifteen minutes into an on-demand screening of “Get Out,” I feel the Pro Bowler-turned-auteur side-eyeing me the way he used to side-eye opposing blockers when he ranked among football’s most disruptive pass rushers. I turn my head and there he is, all 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds of him, sitting on the opposite end of a plush living room couch inside his sleek downtown bachelor pad. He is wearing a gray Blackhawks tee, black workout shorts and matching slides—belying every bit of his 44 years. His low fade haircut and stubbly beard can’t be more than a day removed from the barbershop chair. He’s leaning forward and looking frustrated, as if he’s about to get up and show me the door. I swallow hard.



“I’m not intrigued right now,” he says in a raspy baritone. “In my head this movie is answering a lot of questions, like, this is why I didn’t...