Last week, former NFL punter Pat McAfee's acting debut premiered in the new Netflix movie, The Mosquito Bowl, and he wowed his director, Peter Berg.
Of course, The Mosquito Bowl is about the famous exhibition game played between the Marines at Guadalcanal during World War II.
McAfee, playing a small role, makes a splash as a drill instructor. He shouts orders at heavy-hitters like Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Galitzine, and Ray Nicholson.
At the movie's premiere, McAfee credited Tom Cruise with laying out the “blueprint” for him and helping him prepare for his role.
“He started laying it all out for me,” McAfee said. “I immediately realized I was in very, very deep waters, but I had the blueprint [of] what I needed to do.”
Berg has tons of “respect” for McAfee for taking on the role. He didn't need the money, but he was eager to play the part. Berg revealed that McAfee not only spoke to Cruise, but also spoke to Bradley Cooper in preparation to play the drill instructor. McAfee's preparation was so thorough it made Berg feel like he was directing all three of them, which would've been tough.
“He was very humble and aware that this was a big deal and that these guys were experienced actors, and that we were taking this very seriously,” Berg said of McAfee. “He did talk to Tom Cruise and Bradley Cooper and got a bunch of advice from them, so he was coming at me, and sometimes I felt like I was directing him, Bradley Cooper, and Tom Cruise, which would've been a challenge. But he was asking a lot of questions, and I respect him for it. I think he really cares.”
Did his talk show or WWE help Pat McAfee adjust more to The Mosquito Bowl?
While he gained notoriety as a punter, McAfee's live daily show has made him a household name in sports media. Berg believes “all of it,” from his time in WWE to his daily show, helped him in his acting debut.
He appears adamant that McAfee has “the energy of an artist.” McAfee is always running and doing something, and that preps you for life in Hollywood.
Article Continues Below“I think probably all of it,” Berg said. “I think if you really look at what Pat does just on a daily basis on ESPN, the ability to get up… First of all, the amount of movement he does, if you know him and understand how he's going from this state to that state to this state, like, the movement's incredible.
“But the way he's able to get into a zone and just talk and find his truth in dissecting sports, and talk with athletes and Coach [Nick] Saban and everybody in between. There's an incredible energy in that guy's brain, which to me is the energy of an artist, and I've told him that. Yes, he's talking about football; yes, he does wrestling; yes, he talks a lot. That's not easy. And he's got this incredible life force inside of him, and I was just really proud of the work he did and how seriously he took this movie,” Berg continued.
The Mosquito Bowl is in select theaters and begins streaming on Netflix on Nov. 25.