411 Movies Interview: Jerry Rice
Posted by Tony Farinella on 01.11.2009
411's Tony Farinella sits down with one of the greatest receivers in NFL history, Jerry Rice, for an exclusive interview about his role in Without a Paddle: Nature's Calling, his NFL career, Dancing with the Stars, and a whole lot more!
Life after football is never an easy transition to make, but Jerry Rice has been having the time of his life with such projects as Dancing with the Stars, Pros and Joes, and now his role in Without a Paddle: Nature's Calling. Rice was selected to the Pro Bowl 13 times (1986–1996, 1998, 2002) and named All-Pro 10 times in his 20 NFL seasons. He won three Super Bowl rings as a member of the San Francisco 49ers, (1985–2000) and an AFC Championship with the Oakland Raiders (2001–2004). Needless to say, it was a huge honor for me to sit down with the legendary Jerry Rice and ask him a few questions. In my interview with Jerry Rice, we talked about his role in Without a Paddle: Nature's Calling, his NFL career, Dancing with the Stars, and a whole lot more. Be sure to pick up Without a Paddle: Nature's Calling on January 13th when it hits DVD.
TONY: You said on the DVD that football was easy and there are no parallels between acting and football. What challenges did you face as an actor on this project?
Jerry Rice: Well, some of the challenges here were just to remember my lines. (laughs) That was one of them because when the director said action, for some reason, I would forget my lines. But playing someone else, because I was comfortable with doing different sitcoms and playing myself. But in this particular movie here, Without a Paddle: Nature's Calling, I played a mountain man. Looking at the costume, the big beard, the fur coat that was made of squirrels and all that, and I was out in the wilderness for thirty years trying to come up with a cure for globing warming and I thought I did that. But, come to find out, that was not the cure. Just remembering the lines and stuff like that, and then to put that on television, where you look like you're just having an interaction with your core actor, which his name was Nigel, because I had to remember his lines, also. So I didn't know exactly when to come in. It was great teamwork.
TONY: When an athlete steps onto the field, he's very confident in what he's doing and he knows how to do it well. What's it like entering another medium where you're basically a rookie again?
Jerry Rice: Right. Right. Well, man, you have to take very small steps. And I'm not looking to say this is something I'm going to really pursue that I'm going to do for the rest of my life, but if opportunities should come up, and if it fits me, I'm going to go for it. This was a challenge for me, a very big one. But, also when I did Dancing with the Stars because I stepped out of my boundary there. Pros and Joes. So many other sitcoms and stuff like that. So I'm having fun with life after football, and I find this to be very challenging.
TONY: Have you heard any feedback from your fellow football players who have seen the film?
Jerry Rice: No, they haven't seen the film yet. I'm sure I'm going to get a lot of feedback. These guys, they're probably going to talk about me and do everything, especially with what I was wearing. I've been doing interviews all morning and some of these guys that I've talked to, they were some of my fellow opponents, and they said they couldn't get one or two words out of me when I played football, but, now, all of a sudden, they can't shut me up because I'm doing so many different things. Like Dancing with the Stars and I did these skits with Kenny Mayne on Dancing with the Stars called Dance Center. Like I said, Pros and Joes and so many other sitcoms and things like that. But no one thought I would go in this direction. I really didn't think I would go in this direction. But this is something that's happening, and I'm going to welcome this and try to be the best that I can be.
TONY: What NFL players do you think would make good actors?
Jerry Rice: Oh my god, man, I don't know. (laughs) I know Jim Brown was pretty good at it. O.J, I think he was pretty good at it. He did a lot of it. Marcus Allen. All of us have tried to indulge in it just a little bit, but I don't think there really have been any out there besides Jim Brown, because I think Jim Brown did quite a few movies.
TONY: I talked to LeRoy Butler last year and he said to key to watching football when you're retired is to watch the game with an open mind and not think about what you would do if you were playing the game. How do you watch football today?
Jerry Rice: It's the same thing. If you're doing commentary, that's the worst thing that you want to do if you're doing commentary: If I was out there. The thing about football right now, it's totally different. It's different from when we played the game. I think when we played the game, there might have been a little bit more passion and the love of the game, but, now, everything pretty much came down to the major contracts and making a lot of money and all of that. I'm not saying you still don't have players out there that still have it in their hearts to go out there and play the game the way it should be played, but it's a little bit different now.
TONY: How do you think your fellow NFL athletes did on Dancing with the Stars?
Jerry Rice: Jason Taylor, Emmit Smith, and Warren Sapp? I think Evander Holyfield was the guy that was on the last show before I came on, and after I went on, I think it opened up the door for so many other athletes because they didn't look at it as being not masculine anymore. It was like, 'If Jerry Rice can go on Dancing with the Stars, so can I.' I get it from all the professionals and the dancers because they thank me. Now, it's like, athletic-wise, you have more big name players coming on and I think they're doing a fantastic job. And you notice that we're competitive. That's the thing. We're going to give it one-hundred percent. Jason Taylor did, Warren Sapp, and Emmit was able to win it. So all the athletes are working hard.
TONY: Who would you like to see on the show in the future?
Jerry Rice: That's kind of hard to say because we just have that competitive nature. We're going to try to outwork the opponent because you have a reputation to uphold. I'm always joking around with Steve Young and telling him, 'You should go on Dancing with the Stars.' And Steve says no and there's no way he'd be able to dance. Also, Joe Montana, Ronnie Lott. But those guys are scared to death and they say there's no way they'd be able to do something like that. (laughs)
TONY: What do you think about the job that Mike Singletary has done with the 49ers so far? I live in Chicago, so a lot of people are very interested in his coaching career.
Jerry Rice: I think it's fantastic. That was the best move the 49ers made by making him the head coach, and it's only going to get better because you have a guy in there that's pretty much going to be straight up with you. It's very similar to Bill Walsh. If you're not doing your job, he's going to let you know you're not doing your job. And if you don't do your job, you're out of there. And I think players respect that and I think it was great for the 49er organization to make him the head coach.
TONY: What have you learned about acting recently?
Jerry Rice: I think just try to be yourself. You pick and choose. If you feel like a role is going to challenge you, then go for it. I think a lot of people want to do that. When I did Dancing with the Stars, I stepped out of my boundary and I'm having a great time. Life, you have to just go for it, because it comes around just one time and you have to indulge yourself.
TONY: What else would you like to pursue in the future?
Jerry Rice: I'm just taking it one day at a time. If something comes on the table, I'll look at it and I'll decide if I want to pursue it. But, right now, I'm just having a great time. I always use this analysis: I'm just like a boxer. I'm bobbing and I'm weaving and I'm having a great time. I think it's pretty much keeping me focused and just giving me a lot of energy, because I never know what tomorrow is going to bring and I'm just having fun.
TONY: The NFL is filled with so many young and exciting receivers today, from Anquan Boldin to Greg Jennings. Personally, who do you enjoy watching?
Jerry Rice: The guys that you just named. Also, Andre Johnson from Houston. Terrell Owens. Randy Moss. The list goes on. Marvin Harrison. But not only wide receivers but quarterbacks: Peyton Manning. What Kurt Warner is doing with the Arizona Cardinals. Tony Romo. The list just goes on and on. I think there's still some quality players in the NFL, and I sit back and I watch those guys.
TONY: What's the best advice you can give an NFL player who is thinking about retirement? It seems very difficult to make that decision, because you always think you have one more year left in you.
Jerry Rice: I think you should do it your way. You chose to play this game and you should decide when it's time to go out. You look at Brett Favre and what he was able to accomplish. Everybody thought he was done and he was able to come back with the Jets and do some great things on the football field. So I think it should be your decision.
TONY: Have you ever thought about coaching in the future?
Jerry Rice: Too much of a commitment there. I was joking around this morning; if I went into coaching, I wouldn't be able to indulge in all the things that I'm doing right now because of the commitment behind it. But if I can come in and be a mentor to the guys and just pass on some knowledge that way, I'd be glad to.
TONY: I know a lot of your kids are involved in different athletic activities. What's it been like watching your kids develop?
Jerry Rice: I never wanted my son to play football, but he decided that he wanted to do it. My youngest, she's in sports, also. She's doing a little bit of everything. She's thirteen. She's doing soccer, basketball and all of that. Just to watch my son go out there and give it one-hundred percent, knowing that everybody is going to put pressure on him because of his dad and stuff like that, he does a great job of dealing with that and overall he's just a good kid. So I think he's going to do well. If it's not in sports, it's going to be in academics.
TONY: If you were starting an NFL team today, tell me the first three players you would include on your team.
Jerry Rice: My god, probably the guys that I feel like represent the NFL the right way. I would say Montana, Ronnie Lott, and probably a running back like Roger Craig.
TONY: What's it like to perform at Lambeau Field during a playoff game?
Jerry Rice: It's crazy. I remember we had a playoff game there and we had the worst conditions ever. But you had fans in the stands that didn't have clothing on or anything, and they come out and they really support the Packers and support them one-hundred percent. So it's very difficult to play there and it's real noisy.
TONY: Finally, how do you think NFL players today are handling all of the media attention?
Jerry Rice: I think that's just part of the territory. When I first came in, I wish I had dealt with the media just a little bit better, because I had some different things going on. If they wrote something, I got very defensive. But they have a job to do. If you cooperate with the media, I think they're going to cooperate with you. It's just part of the package, and I think guys just have to realize that.
