SANDLOT star Patrick Renna recalled the incredible moment he and his castmates shared with co-star James Earl Jones.
“We all knew him as Darth Vader,” he explained while appearing on THE RICH EISEN SHOW. “Marty York [who played Yeah-Yeah] went up to him — none of us had the guts to.”
Renna shared that the young actors were all intimidated by their “larger-than-life” co-star, adding, “We’re all, like, speechless. And he was so cool.”
“But we also were all supposed to have a scene with him, and the director changed it to just having Scotty, Smalls and Benny in the scene with him, so we didn’t even act with him,” he continued. “We just, I think, were like — he looked at us and laughed, in one scene, so none of us had the guts to talk to him.”
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Renna said, “Marty York goes up to him and goes, ‘Sir, I hear you’re James Earl Jones’…or, no, ‘You were Darth Vader in STAR WARS.’ And he looked at him and he said, ‘No, I am your father,’ and that was it. That was the only time any of us talked to him and…it was pretty great. I didn’t need to meet him after that.”
We’re about to see more of Renna; he and the rest of the actors from THE SANDLOT are set to star in DUGOUT DADS, a new YouTube series.
“The series tells the story of an idealistic dad (Renna) who volunteers to coach his kids’ Little League team and learns that the adults involved — ie., coaches, parents, and maybe himself — are more unruly than the kids,” an official description reads. “The storyline was inspired by Renna’s own experience meeting other dads at his own kids’ games.”
In an Instagram post celebrating the show’s release, Renna wrote, “This experience has been one I will never forget. Being back on a field filming a show with my brothers was something I wasn’t sure would happen again. We so appreciate each and every one of you that’s been with us for the last 30+ years! This is a passion project we’ve wanted to do for years and it wouldn’t have been possible without you! Hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed making it.”
With DUGOUT DADS, Renna is bringing baseball to the screen for a whole new generation of fans.
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