Q&A with Tom Berenger

The 53-year-old actor -- who was the glue of the Cleveland Indians in Major League and Major League II -- plays Bear Bryant in The Junction Boys. The ESPN film, which debuts on Dec. 14, covers Bryant's 1954 training camp in Junction, Texas, when he coached Texas A&M.

Tom Berenger. AP

SI: How did you land the role of Bear Bryant?

Berenger: The director submitted the script to my agent and I read it that morning. I called my agent back [after reading it] and spoke to the director the same day. Then they worked on the deal.

SI: Had you read Jim Dent's book [The Junction Boys] before you took the part?

Berenger: No. My whole memory of Bear Bryant was Alabama. It was only Alabama. I didn't really know anything else about him except those years at Alabama and this was very interesting to me, the early life.

SI: You intended to major in journalism at the University of Missouri and become a sportswriter. Why give up such a lucrative career to become a movie star?

Berenger: I just don't know.

SI: Did you watch Forrest Gump, one of the great Alabama football players, to prepare for the part?

Berenger: No, because that [movie] was really shot in South Carolina where I live. And that shrimp boat belonged to a friend of mine. He said it was the best season he ever had because for four months all he had to do was movie shrimping. After that, he sold the boat to Planet Hollywood and paid off his mortgage.

SI: Have you ever been to the state of Alabama?

Berenger: Just Mobile on the Gulf Coast. However, my wife was born there and her mom has spent most of her life there. When she told her Mom I was doing this part, she goes, 'Oh, my God, he's playing the Bear.'

SI: How did you prep for the part?

Berenger: I had about two weeks to prep so I read three books, talked to a couple of guys from Alabama that knew Bear and looked over about two hours of film clips of speeches that he gave. It was two weeks' prep work, a week over there before shooting, four weeks shooting and then home. It was a headspinner.

SI: Did you become a fan of the Cleveland Indians after the Major League movies?

Berenger: Yeah. I went to one of their games before we started shooting. It was Charlie Sheen and myself and we threw out the opening pitch. I was glad to see them have winning teams, but it was really unfortunate when those pitchers were killed in that boating accident.

SI: When's the last time someone called you by your given name: Thomas Michael Moore?

Berenger: Frequently. I use it when I fly, so I hear it a lot.

SI: For those of us who don't live in South Carolina, can you explain what the heck a Gamecock is?

Berenger: It's a fighting rooster.

SI: You won a Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe for Platoon but lost the Oscar to Michael Caine. Would winning an ESPY Award for this part help you get over the sting?

Berenger: Sure. Why not.

SI: Did you ever catch Charlie Sheen and how fast a pitcher was he?

Berenger: The first day he threw to me, out of the first 10 pitches, nine of them were on the edges of the strike zone. That's how much control he had. Only one was wild. On his best days, I think he was throwing around 88-89 miles per hour because I once caught a guy throwing 94-95 with the Savannah Cardinals.

SI: Weren't you scared catching a guy who threw 94 miles per hour?

Berenger: Oh, yeah. I had a welt as big as a grapefruit from blocking a slider -- but I blocked it. It was a little intimidating.

SI: Finally, who's the better baseball hero: You or Kevin Costner?

Berenger: He's a bigger star, so I guess it's him.

--Richard Deitsch

Issue date: Nov. 11, 2002

 

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