Flick Direct: Tom Welling talks DRAFT DAY with Penny Mclean from FlickDirect in Miami, Florida, On March 25th, 2014!:
Penny Mclean: Hi. I'm Penny Mclean with FlickDirect, and I'm here today with Tom Welling to talk about his feature film Draft Day.
Penny: Hi Tom. How are you?
[Quote] Tom Welling Draft Day: I'm doing great. Thank you. [/Quote]
Penny: Welcome to Miami.
[Quote] Tom Smiles: Thank you. Thank you. [/Quote]
[Woman Laughs In The Background!]
Penny: Well, talk to me about this awesome film Draft Day with Kevin Costner and you of course.
[Quote] Tom: Well, this is a, I mean, I, I've seen the film once at a screening with Jennifer Garner and a, a couple members of the cast, and it was, I'm, I think it's a great film. [Slight Laugh] [/Quote]
Penny: It is.
[Quote] Tom: Yeah. I'm a little biased of course, but like, I'm looking forward to seeing it again. [/Quote]
Penny: I just saw it last night. And, kindest to tell you, I'm not a huge football fan.
[Quote] Tom: Mmhmmm. [/Quote]
Penny: And, you got me sucked in. I mean, this Draft is very interesting. I never really got into it and watched it, so now, I'm ready to watch it, when it comes around again. [Laughs]
[Quote] Tom: Well, it's a great human story especially for Kevin's character. I mean, you don't actually have to enjoy football to enjoy this film. And, if you do enjoy football, you're just going to like the film even more. [/Quote]
Penny: Well, it got me motivated. And, tell me about this character you play. It's amazing that from what we saw, which I love Smallville, totally different character, and, you're this incredible quarterback. I mean he's like straping muscles, ready to go.
[Quote] Tom Coughs. [/Quote]
Penny: And, um, tell me how you prepared for it.
[Quote] Tom: I didn't have much time to prepare for it. I spent two days at um, the Cleveland Browns Traning Camp and, just sort of hung around and listened and watched and threw a couple of footballs. But, other than that, um, I got the job, I think ten days before I went to Cleveland. So, I kinda, yeah. I had just shaved my head myself, and so it was kind of like, well, if you guys, [laughs] are good with this, then we're good. [/Quote]
Penny: It's perfect.
[Quote] Tom: Ah, it works, I think. Yeah. [/Quote]
Penny: So, were you ever a football player growing up?
[Quote] Tom: I wasn't. I wasn't allowed to play. [/Quote]
Penny: Okay.
[Quote] Tom: My father played all the way through college and didn't let myself or my brother play. [/Quote]
Penny: If you could have played, what would you have wanted to be? Would you have done the quarterback? Or...
[Quote] Tom: Quarterback, for sure. [/Quote]
Penny: Would you?
[Quote] Tom Smiles: Yeah. [/Quote]
Penny: Okay, awesome!
[Quote] Tom Laughs. [/Quote]
Penny: And, with working with Kevin, um, tell me about that. Was anyone a jokster on this set? Or,...
[Quote] Tom: Um...[/Quote]
Penny: Or, was it more like really serious?
[Quote] Tom: It wasn't that it was serious. It was, it was professional. But, it was a warm environment like a creative environment. Um, for me, he's always been sort of like a hero or idol to me. And, I just wanted to meet him. And, the first time I met him, I was on set working with him. But, he, you know, I was extremely nervous, but he, you know, came over and said, 'Hi'. We talked for a little bit. And, it was just, put me at ease. And, ah, you know, it really is about the story, and about the performance, and um, he really you know stands up for that while you're shooting it, and, in the best sense. Um, it was a really great experience for me.[/Quote]
Penny: I liked your character about like the come back kid. Because you got injured, and usually when football players get injured their usually, their career's like cut short.
[Quote] Tom: Yeah. [/Quote]
Penny: And, you secretly like trained and got really motivated, and you came back. Here you were, for the Draft, thinking you were good.
[Quote] Tom: Yeah. [/Quote]
Penny: And, then things got changed.
[Quote] Tom: Yeah. [/Quote]
Penny: Because of this [Using Air Quotes] "New Player", that's supposed to be the superstar.
[Quote] Tom: Right. I mean, that's one of the things that I really liked about this character. Here's a guy who was injured, went out and worked on his own in the off season and is back. He's better than ever. And, he shows up and realizes that his job's in jeopardy. I mean, you know, that's, that's not an easy thing to face especially as a, as a, as an athlete, a professional athlete. [/Quote]
Penny: And, I wish you all the best. I wanna show you what we have with our countdown...
[Quote] Tom Coughs: Excuse me. [/Quote]
Penny Continues: Clock. This is what we, what we've been counting down.
[Penny Shows Tom The Count Down Clock On Her iPad To Draft Day's Release Date Premiere.]
[Quote] Tom: Oh, wow! [/Quote]
Penny: This is what we've been doing for a couple of years.
[Quote] Tom Laughs. [/Quote]
Penny: You can do this on iPhone or iPad for you, but bascially, in sixteen days, and the rest minutes and hours, we'll be seeing your Draft Day on April 11th.
[Quote] Tom: That's great! [/Quote]
Penny: So, we are definitely counting down for you, for sure, and...
[Quote] Tom: It's like counting down for the Draft.
Penny: It is. Counting down to the Draft. Exactly! For sure. And, ah, is there anything that you wish, like if you could not be, if you weren't an actor, would you ever think of being a football player.
[Quote] Tom: I would love to be a football player. I thought I was going to be a baseball player when I was a kid, but that didn't work out. [/Quote]
Penny: Wow! Well, who would you like to play? What's your favorite team?
[Quote] Tom: Ah, probably the Cardinals. [/Quote]
Penny: Ah, okay.
[Quote] Tom: I grew up watching the Cardinals a lot. My parents are from St. Louis, so. [/Quote]
Penny: I'm a Baltimore Oreals girl, so...
[Quote] Tom: Okay! So, you have a lot of dedication! That's great. [/Quote]
Penny Laughs!: I'm a Skins girl too.
[Quote] Tom: Okay. [/Quote]
Penny: I love it all. So, I thank you. So, what's coming up in the future for you?
[Quote] Tom: Ah, I'm not sure. I got to Dallas tonight. I'm trying. [laughs] It's like day by day right now. [/Quote]
Penny: That's awesome. Well, I'm excited. Everyone, run out to see Draft Day on April 11th!
