Patrick Renna won are hearts as Hamilton “Ham” Porter in the 1993 David Mickey Evans movie The Sandlot. Now he’s part of ushering in a new generation of young actors in baseball films with You Gotta Believe (now in theatres), also starring Luke Wilson, Greg Kinnear and Sarah Gadon.
While Renna played one of the young baseball hopefuls in The Sandlot, in You Gotta Believe he plays Kliff Young, a Texas baseball organizer who encourages Jon Kelly (Kinnear) to whip this team into shape, to have a run at the Little League World Series.
“To watch a group of nine baseball players filming a movie, I hadn’t seen that since Sandlot and I was on the other side, so I was the Karen Allen and Denis Leary this time around, James Earl Jones,” Renna said.
The film, based on a true story, chronicles a team’s journey to the 2002 Little League World Series, dedicating the season to a teammate Robert’s (Michael Cash) father, Bobby Ratliff (Wilson), who was diagnosed with cancer.
“I read the script and … the inspirational true story aspect of it really got me, and underdogs … exceeding expectations,” Renna told Yahoo Canada. “I got to do all my scenes with Greg Kinnear, who I’ve been a huge fan of all my life.”
“What I love about this movie is the story. I think that’s the strongest part of it and I I think movies need to be more like this, because these are the movies that I grew up watching. … I was watching Home Alone the other day and it’s just a different kind of movie. … I think we need to get back to those childhood films where there’s a message and you can watch it with your family.”
‘Those kids were just having fun’
With Renna having been a kid on a movie set, where much of the success of the production rests in the hands of young actors, the actor stressed that “pressure” shouldn’t be on the child stars filming a movie.
“You don’t want that pressure on the kids and I think that’s the job of the director,” Renna said. “Ty [Roberts] did a great job here, David Mickey Evans did a great job on Sandlot.”
“You want them to just be a kid and be themselves, and let their brilliance shine through. … And if you’ve done your job as a director with kids, they’re not thinking about that.”
“That’s too much weight and that’s too much for them to think about. But again, I think Ty did a great job doing that, because those kids were just having fun and that’s the stuff that shines through. Obviously, Michael [Cash] had a few probably more emotional scenes, some tougher stuff in there, and if you’re a good producer you’ll spread those out, maybe keep those siloed off from the rest, and kind of think with that for the talent’s sake”
In terms of advice Renna has for the younger cast members of You Gotta Believe it’s, “don’t let it get to your head.”
“Don’t forget the people that got you there and I’d say never give up,” Renna shared. “No matter what anyone says.”
‘Would my kids be proud to see it?’
Even 31 years after the release of The Sandlot, Renna still gets told how much that movie means to people, with the actor identifying that it’s “humbling” to be a part of other people’s lives.
The memories that still stick with Renna are more of the behind-the-scenes antics from the film, like the young cast hanging out together in the treehouse.
“I remember when we filmed the pool scene, it was 100 degrees every day in Salt Lake City for 60 days, except that day it was 50 degrees and freezing, and all our teeth are chattering, and I remember the director getting in the pool with us to direct us,” Renna said.
“There’s this great photo that my stepfather took, it’s of him directing us. … He was like our big brother. And it’s those things that are really cool, that I’ll never forget.”
In terms of what Renna looks for in a project to take on as a 45-year-old actor, he’s largely thinking about his children.
“Now it’s, ‘Would my kids be proud to see it?'” Renna said. “I don’t even necessarily mean could they watch it now, … when they’re of age to watch it, would it be something I’d be proud to show them?”
“I think also, does it inspire me? Can I get through the script? … I’m a movie goer too, so I think I look at it that way. … It doesn’t have to be big, doesn’t have to be the star, but it can’t be pointless, and it has to mean something. And that’s what I liked about You Gotta Believe, it’s not the biggest role in the film, but it meant something, and it was important and it was pivotal.”