From Tennis Courts to Hollywood: Andy Roddick's Acting Debut

Former tennis champion Andy Roddick just leveled up. He’s now officially an actor, and he’s playing a version of himself in "The Dink." This movie is a sports comedy all about pickleball, and Roddick is stealing scenes left and right.

Jake Johnson, who leads the film as a former tennis pro trying to win his dad’s approval through pickleball, had a hunch about Roddick. The two actually knew each other from each other’s podcasts before cameras started rolling. At the movie’s premiere on Monday, Johnson was clearly impressed. He said Roddick was hilarious, but then added that he was on a completely different level in the actual film. According to Johnson, the original plan was to hire a comedian to pretend to be an athlete. Instead, they took a chance on Roddick, and Johnson put it simply: "He crushes it."

Producer Ben Stiller gets credit for coming up with the idea to bring Roddick on board. Johnson shared that Roddick was super modest about it. He kept saying things like, "I’m not the right guy for this" and "I promise you, I’m not the guy." The whole team had to convince him otherwise. Johnson and the crew kept telling him, "You’re the guy. Trust us."

Director Josh Greenbaum had a video call with Roddick and right away felt confident he could handle the role. Greenbaum pointed out that even when you play yourself, acting is still acting. Roddick clearly got that. Johnson echoed this sentiment, saying that someone who competed at the highest levels of sports can definitely handle a little pressure from reading lines. He described Roddick as open, funny, and easy to work with.

The movie also features Ed Harris, Mary Steenburgen, and others like Chloe Fineman, Aaron Chen, and Clio King. "The Dink" is currently streaming on Apple TV, and it marks a pretty unexpected but successful crossover for Roddick from the tennis world to the big screen.