Joe Theismann’s acting resume still pales in comparison to what he accomplished on the football field, but the Redskins legend has continued to explore his thespian side since making his big-screen debut in 1980 as George Raft’s bodyguard in “The Man With Bogart’s Face.” Four years later, Theismann had a bit part in “Cannonball Run II” alongside an ensemble cast of Hollywood stars that included Burt Reynolds, Shirley MacLaine and Dom DeLuise. Theismann’s most recent movie premieres Saturday on the Hallmark Channel and was directed by DeLuise’s oldest son, Peter.
“SnowComing,” in which Theismann plays a sports agent, is the former quarterback’s second appearance in a Hallmark movie in the past four years. He can thank Hall of Famer Dan Marino for that honor. In the fall of 2015, producer Beth Grossbard was in Squamish, B.C., preparing to shoot “Love on the Sidelines,” a movie about a quarterback (John Reardon) who falls in love with his personal assistant (Emily Kinney) while recovering from a serious injury. For a Hallmark production, the script featured quite a bit of football, so Grossbard was determined to cast a former NFL star as the quarterback’s father.
Grossbard is a die-hard Dolphins fan, so Marino was her first choice. While the Miami great expressed interest in the role, his responsibilities within the Dolphins’ front office prevented him from accepting the job. Time was short and Grossbard was still set on finding an NFL great for the part. A colleague suggested Theismann, who could relate better than most to the character he would be asked to play, and Grossbard made the call.
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“It took not even a couple of hours and he said yes,” Grossbard said of her initial conversation with Theismann, one week before the scheduled shoot. “Joe was on a plane [to Canada] and it was all meant to be. He is so giving and so amazing.”
Theismann, who has made cameos in the TV series “Necessary Roughness” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” brought footballs to the set and signed autographs for the cast and crew. He and Grossbard bonded over their shared experience of suffering devastating leg injuries, Theismann’s in front of millions of viewers on “Monday Night Football” in 1985 and Grossbard’s in a skiing accident on California’s Mammoth Mountain. Grossbard was impressed with Theismann’s humble Hallmark debut in “Love on the Sidelines” and promised to keep him in mind for future projects. While Theismann only appeared in a few scenes, he’s come to count on hearing from friends, family and fans every time the movie re-airs.
Watching Love on the Sidelines on the Hallmark Channel. Love that movie
— Joe Theismann (@Theismann7) July 31, 2018“I get tweets and texts from friends of mine saying, ‘Hey, I saw you in that Hallmark movie,’ ” Theismann said last week while en route to a golf tournament in Florida. “My wife loves Hallmark movies, I enjoy watching them, and now I’m becoming a much bigger fan of them. I can’t tell you how many people have come up to me and said, ‘You know, my mom loves the Hallmark Channel. My parents really watch it. My wife is excited about it. My sister loves it.’ Guys are reluctant to admit it, but there are guys who pull me aside and say, ‘Yo man, I really love the Hallmark Channel, too.’”
Unlike “Love on the Sidelines,” which went head-to-head with a divisional round playoff game between the Cardinals and Packers when it premiered on Jan. 15, 2016, viewers won’t have to choose between football and feel-good love story this Saturday at 8 p.m. “SnowComing,” which also stars Lindy Booth, Trevor Donovan and former NFL running back Ed Marinaro, begins with Booth returning home to celebrate her father’s retirement from coaching. During her visit, she runs into Donovan, an NFL quarterback who happens to be her former high school sweetheart. Theismann, who has a larger part in “SnowComing” than he did in his Hallmark debut, plays Donovan’s stress ball-wielding agent.
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“I get to be an agent of a guy that won a Super Bowl and lost one, so I can relate to that too,” said the 69-year-old Theismann, who practiced his lines repeatedly with his wife, Robin, before traveling to Squamish for three days of shooting in November. “I got a chance to really have a lot of fun with this one. You sort of channel your inner Jerry Maguire and Dwayne Johnson from ‘Ballers.’ I’m a Type A type of guy and it sort of fit my personality in that regard. That’s the great thing about trying to capture the essence of a character, to sort of not be yourself, but to be the character. The voice inflections, the body movements, the mannerisms. It’s fun.”
“Peter [DeLuise] just brought the most amazing performance out of Joe,” Grossbard said. “He gets inside people’s heads.”
Mark u calendar. January 26th the Hallmark movie, Snow-Coming. In Vancouver shoot it now. Hallmark, the feel good channel.
— Joe Theismann (@Theismann7) November 25, 2018Theismann, who planned to watch the “SnowComing” premiere in Memphis with family, said he would love to continue acting in addition to his other various speaking and broadcasting engagements. He may have a future as a Hallmark pitchman, too.
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“It gives you a chance to step outside of who you are, into something different, a different world,” Theismann said. “With so many crazy things going on in this world, people look for a place where they can take a deep breath, relax and enjoy a feel-good movie. That’s really what Hallmark is. The people I work with are just great. You watch a Hallmark movie, whether you sit down and watch it early in the evening, or you watch it before you go to bed, you put your head down on the pillow and you feel like something good happened.”
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