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Sidelines Kalani Simpson |
A conversation
with volleyball’s
most famous faceTHE national championship is in town. The (lower case) final four. The NCAA men's tournament. Men's volleyball's finest hour.
The national championship.
To commemorate this momentous event, we decided to interview volleyball's greatest star. The world's most famous volleyball face.
Movie star. Sporting good. Broadcast Film Critics award-winner. Volleyball.
All summed up in one word: Wilson.
Star-Bulletin: Wilson, welcome. It's a little-known fact that you are actually not the official ball of the NCAA championship. In fact, that honor went to perhaps your biggest competitor, your most bitter rival, Spalding.Wilson: Well, first of all, that's been way overblown by you people in the media. There's no feud. We prefer to look at it as a healthy competition. There's a lot of mutual respect. There's just nothing to that story.
SB: So you hold no disappointment, no ...
W: Well, if that's the direction the NCAA wants to go, if that's the ball they want representing them, fine. Everybody knows I'm the bigger name. I'm much more aerodynamic. Who do you think of when you think volleyball? You think Wilson, that's who.
SB: Well ...
W: Don't they know who I am? I could get a two-time Oscar winner on speed dial right now! I know Tom Hanks!
SB: Yes. That brings to mind your inspirational performance in a remarkable film called ... (James Lipton whisper) "Cast Away"!
W: Thank you. Thank you.
SB: Where within yourself were you able find the level of emotion that you were able to portray in this movie?
W: Well, I knew I wanted to show something different. I'd done a lot of coaching videos, I'd done "Side Out." I'd even had that bit role in "Top Gun." But I was going for something more subtle, more powerful. You know, they originally wanted me in a speaking role, but I said no. Any actor can do that. Any actor can fill in a character with accents and funny voices. I didn't want to take the easy way out.
SB: A breakthrough performance. Stunning. What was it like working with the great Tom Hanks?
W: T-Dog? What a generous actor. A real pro. He's not afraid to share the screen with you, as you saw in that movie. Plus, between takes he would do lines from "Bosom Buddies" and "Bachelor Party" and then yell out "Remember that one?!" and elbow people in the stomach. The crew loved him.
SB: Truly, the master thespian.
W: Then he would dance "the monkey."
SB: Is it true, I read this somewhere, that you and Tom Hanks are actually related?
W: Distantly. Very distantly. Through his wife, actually, Rita Wilson.
SB: What is toughest about acting?
W: Well, I do my own stunts. I did them long before I got into acting, as you know. That's what being a volleyball is all about. But no, the most difficult part was wardrobe. On "Cast Away" I was in make-up for four hours a day to get that face.
SB: So that isn't ...
W: Oh, no! No. But I liked it so much I just went with it. I decided to keep it. Women love it.
SB: Will you and Hanks act together again?
W: Possibly. We're looking at a few scripts. Maybe a cop buddy picture. Maybe a comedy.
SB: Any predictions on the NCAA championship?
W: Yeah. I'll be at the beach. Ask the "official" ball.
SB: But since you've hit it big in Hollywood, you've become the face of the sport, the spokesball. Do you feel like you've been typecast?
W: I love volleyball. It's my roots. It's who I am. I'll never fully leave the game. There's nothing like the crowd, nothing like getting spiked. It's like you can fly.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Kalani Simpson can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com
