The Benchwarmers Exclusive interviews, John Heder, David Spade, Rob Schneider

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"The Benchwarmers"
The Interviews: John Heder, David Spade, Rob Schneider
by Angela Dawson
April 10, 2006

The Benchwarmers Movie Poster

Phoenix, AZ - The '50s had the Rat Pack: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop, pals who played together on-screen and off. Their lightweight comedies were often forgettable, but their camaraderie seemed genuine and their hipness appealed to moviegoers. Nowadays, Hollywood's in-group is a cadre of former "Saturday Night Live" vets under the leadership of comedy star Adam Sandler. Unlike the legendary Rat Pack, these guys aren't cool sophisticates. They're former geeks who survived high school by being funny. The troupe includes Rob Schneider, David Spade, Jon Lovitz, Tim Meadows, Alan Covert and others.

Sandler, through his Happy Madison production company, has tapped into a nerd zeitgeist by producing mid-budget, critic-proof comedies like "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo," "The Animal," "Joe Dirt," "The Hot Chick," and "Grandma's Boy."

Happy Madison productions have reaped millions in box-office profits. Sandler doesn't even appear in most of them, but his influence is evident. And doling these projects out to his friends has freed up the actor to star in more sophisticated fare like "Spanglish" and "Punch-Drunk Love."

Sandler's Midas touch has afforded him the kind of clout any Hollywood producer would envy. Once he gets an idea for a comedy, all he has to do is call up a studio executive and one of his writer pals and it's as good as made.

His latest is "The Benchwarmers," a rollicking baseball comedy starring Schneider, Spade and Jon Heder. Spade and Schneider are Happy Madison
stalwarts, while Heder has become something of a cult figure thanks to the success of his 2004 hit comedy, "Napoleon Dynamite."

The three portray underdogs who form a baseball team and challenge a squad of elementary school baseball bullies to play in a tournament. A string of wins by these former benchwarmers leads to a high-stakes, winner-take-all game with the best young ballplayers in the state.

Lovitz plays a local billionaire who agrees to finance the trio's venture as a way of helping his nerdy son exact revenge against the bullies of the world. He even hires baseball legend Reggie Jackson to coach the guys on the finer points of the game.

Schneider plays the main underdog, a role Sandler might have played. As Gus, Schneider is a fairly good athlete who never got the chance to play ball in high school because he was smaller than the rest of the players. Grown up and married, he still wants to play ball with the guys, but his new bride ("Las Vegas's" Molly Sims) expects him to settle down and start a family.

"I kind of realized early on I was playing him," says Schneider about Sandler. "That was a big responsibility for me." In preparation, Schneider trained for three months prior to production with former San Francisco Giants star Mike Cicione. "I have a tendency to want to act goofy," Schneider says, but Sandler encouraged him to play it straight. The goofiness is left to Spade and Heder, who take their respective roles and run with them. Spade plays Richie, a clueless catcher who manages to distract the opposing team by insulting the batters mercilessly.

Heder plays Clark, a talentless nerd who's afraid to hit the ball but likes hanging out with his friends. Having starred in the Sandler-produced "Dicky Roberts" and "Joe Dirt," Spade had no problem saying yes to his old friend and "SNL" colleague about "The Benchwarmers." "I wind up only working for him," says the sardonic funnyman. "Basically, I'm in my own little world. I don't do that many other movies."

Spade, who currently stars on Comedy Central's "The Showbiz Show With David Spade," suggested casting Heder for the role of Clark after seeing
"Napoleon Dynamite."

"I only saw half (of the movie) and called Adam," he recalls. "I go, `Dude, we've got to get this guy. He's funny and the kids like him.'" Sandler agreed and invited Heder to join the project. Heder, a fan of Sandler's comedies, jumped at the opportunity to star in one. "When I got the script, I thought, oh cool, it'll be fun to get out there and play some baseball. But then I realized my character stinks at it, so I knew I probably wouldn't get the chance," recalls the Salem, Ore., native, laughing. "But I really enjoyed hitting the ball."

As the newest addition to Sandler's stable of performers, Heder was delighted to discover that the producer-actor was so collaborative. Sandler loved Heder's idea that Clark would be the type to walk into a store still wearing his bicycle helmet, and suggested that he wear the headgear throughout the movie.

Much like his "Napoleon Dynamite" character, Heder's Clark is a quirky outsider whose very appearance makes people laugh. "He's a bit like him," Heder acknowledges. "But it's different because (Clark) actually smiles. You get to see his teeth. You see more sides to him and he's a much nicer guy."

Like his character, Heder wasn't much of an athlete in high school. "I was kind of in between," he explains. "I would have some time on the bench, but I also got to play too."

To avoid the embarrassment of having to try out, Heder went out for less selective sports like cross-country and swimming. Married to a documentary filmmaker, Heder remains oblivious about most sports. "I like to play now and then but I don't know who anybody is or what teams are playing," he reveals. "I'm out of my element in that world."

Schneider waves off Heder's claims. "Jon is a pretty decent athlete," he deadpans. "He just lacks desire, ability and talent."

"No, really, he actually is pretty good," Schneider insists. As the newest member of the troupe, Heder had to go through an initiation by the Happy Madison regulars. Spade reveals that he and the other guys would imitate Heder's signature "Napoleon Dynamite" monotone ad nauseum (Heder passed with flying colors). During their downtime on the set, Heder played hacky sack with Spade and chowed down on junk food with Lovitz.

Heder has a souvenir of his "Benchwarmer" experience - a sore foot. During production he injured the foot but soldiered through. Still recovering, he is preparing to play a figure skater in "Blades of Glory," in which he'll be paired on the ice with another former "SNL" player, Will Ferrell.

Won't that be tough with a bum foot?

"We don't skate for a while," Heder says with a shrug.

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