Oscars 2015: Alexander Schultz -- 'Foxcatcher,' My Father and My Life Today

— -- Note: Alexander Schultz is a tech entrepreneur and founder of the new app Complete. He's also the son of the iconic Dave Schultz, who won an Olympic Gold Medal in wrestling and was one of the main subjects of the Oscar-nominated film "Foxcatcher." On Jan. 26, 1996, Dave Schultz was shot and killed by John du Pont. Mark Ruffalo plays Dave Schultz in the movie, Channing Tatum plays Dave Schultz's brother, Mark Schultz, and Steve Carell stars as du Pont. Alexander Schultz, 28, has used what he learned from his father to inspire others and pave his own path in life. Both Ruffalo and Carell were nominated for an Oscar for their work in this film. This is Alex Schultz's story, as told to ABC News.

Seeing 'Foxcatcher'

That poor sound guy.

I've probably seen "Foxcatcher" too many times -- five in all -- but I still remember the first time. They were finalizing the sound on the film and I was there with the editing team and the producers in Los Angeles. And the poor sound guy, I sat right next to him and I was just balling. So, I'm sure he got nothing out of that session. It was a rough watch, but for only the last 10 to 15 minutes.

The first hour and half, I just thought I was watching a really good taping. When it changes to winter, I had to snap back into it. Then I knew the movie was winding down and what was coming -- the murder scene. It's the worst feeling. It was like going back in a time machine, but you can't do anything. You just have to watch. You really feel powerless.

I had spoken about the story so much that I thought I'd be somewhat numb to it. This is probably just an ode to Ruffalo and Carell and their acting, 'cause it was just like a time machine. Ruffalo does an insane job of playing my dad. It's amazing.

You know, it's always hard to make a biopic, but "Foxcatcher" is incredibly well done. It's emotional for me, but Bennett Miller did a really good job of getting in all the key aspects of my dad and the story. If you ask who my dad was -- gregarious, kind to everyone, an incredibly talented guy in more than just wrestling, an amazing father -- that was Ruffalo in this movie.

The Right Cast for the Right Movie

Ruffalo, Channing and Carell all just nailed it, and not just onscreen.

First, physically, everyone really put their heart and soul into this. They nailed even the way my dad and uncle walked and their work ethic was just ridiculous. That's something I won't ever forget. Like, Channing is this guy who gets up at 4 a.m., works out, then films for 12 hours and catches another workout. Plus, he was training with world-class wrestlers, so it must have been incredibly intense and humbling. But he's down to wake up and do that everyday.

You have to remember that Channing became the megastar he is today while filming "Foxcatcher." I think around that time, he had three movies that all blew up -- "21 Jump Street," "The Vow" and "Magic Mike." He just got so famous. Still, even with that level of fame, he always made time for me and never changed. He's just a good guy and a real one.

Now, Mark Ruffalo is literally the nicest guy on the planet. He's just only doing good things. He's saving the world one day at a time and helping people. I mean it when I say Ruffalo could have just played himself in "The Avengers." Ruffalo and I still talk and email from time to time, and that's just the kind of guy he is.

You can understand why people want to work with these guys. They are just genuine, down-to-earth guys who just happen to be extremely talented actors. If you asked me to form a perfect cast -- on and off the screen -- if it's not "Foxcacther," I don't know what is.

What the Movie Wasn't Able to Show

It must be hard for someone like Bennett Miller to cut someone's story down to 120 minutes. Like my father, Uncle Mark or even du Pont could each have their own movie centered around them. There's three dynamic people there. It was probably tough to decide who to highlight more or whose eyes to show the movie through.

What they weren't able to show in the time frame was how close my father and du Pont were. I remember almost everything from that era. My father loved everyone and always tried to make sure they felt involved. For that reason, I remember DuPont being around a lot. We'd go to his house a bunch and he would come over.

That's one thing not shown in the movie. No negative to the film at all, I mean it. But after Uncle Mark left, it was just my dad and the team. My dad was really John's best friend. They showed him as having this dynamic where my dad would push him away a bit, and he would do that, but only because he was honest with John. He treated him like an adult and not a billionaire. He also was the one guy who would call John over if someone was throwing a barbecue or something.

Instead of just sitting in the corner, my dad would make sure John was good. Other guys were nice to him, but they wouldn't reach out and invite him over.

I think the movie does a really good job of showing why the Schultz family has never been overly mad at du Pont. He's a pretty sympathetic figure. He's just sad. Not rooted in aggressiveness or evil, just a terribly insecure guy who had no friends. Then you throw in a drug problem with an unlimited bank roll and people taking advantage of him. You just end up with a weird, misguided guy with mental health problems.

My Father

My father and I were really close. He may have died when I was 9 years old, but he didn't have a traditional job and that meant he was home a lot when I was a kid. I got to hang out with him and watch him, and I really believe that made me the man I am today. He would go train till 3 p.m. and be home when I got home from school. Me and him were really, really close.

My dad was famous for learning from everyone. He’d go to an event in Russia and talk to everyone about what was working for them, even the janitor. He didn't look down on anyone and he knew some of these other people would see things from a different angle or perspective than he could.

He would always say, "You can just get gold from anyone," no matter of their background.

He was also famous for meeting people, hanging out with them for 30 minutes and they would never know he was an Olympic champion or who he was. He just loved people. He would just talk to them about their job and their life, and he actually cared. There was no facade at all. He was actually interested in you and, because of this, by the end of his life he had all these cool hobbies. He was really good at learning from others. He just opened those doors.

I mean, rock climber, shooting with the national shooting team, he would try anything. He went through his life as a student. That’s always been something I tried to mimic.

My dad’s gone and I’m his representative. That definitely drove me to shoot high. My reasoning, and I think this comes from my dad, is if you aim high, even if you miss by 50 percent, you are probably really in a good place. That drives me to take on big challenges.

I’m driven by what he was able to accomplish. I don’t feel it’s pressure, it’s the right way to live. I saw how happy he was with his life. He’d go after things in a big way. That’s being alive.

My Life Today and Complete App

With that said, I think a lot of my father's ideals are in the Complete app.

We have a billion people on these social networks and it's primarily being used for entertainment value. The interaction is just one-way online. I wanted a community where they didn't just "like" something you already accomplished. I wanted support for things you wanted or needed to get done. Everything that happens before you post the news on Facebook.

Like, I needed to get comfortable dress shoes and if it wasn't for friends and people in Complete, I would never have known that Cole Haan had a collaboration with Nike and, apparently, the shoes are super comfortable. Not a plug for Nike or anything, but it's the community through Complete that made this happen, that shared this knowledge with me. Now, I have comfortable dress shoes.

There are three main reasons people stop short of finishing things they want to do -- time and information gathering, need for accountability and support and connection (wanting to hire someone, but also wanting a recommendation first).

Complete is simple, and all the user has to do is create a task, then post to private or public with the option to add to Twitter or Facebook. Then, it's time to get the task done.