WWF superstar Bill
Goldberg was not a wrestler growing up, he was a football player.
Excelling in high school, Goldberg was an All-SEC and All-American
Nose Guard at the University of Georgia and looked to be headed for
certain stardom in the NFL. But after three seasons and a multitude of
injuries (and a brief stint in the short-lived World League playing
for the Sacramento Surge), the athlete unfortunately had to hang up
his cleats turning to professional wrestling to make his living. And a
successful living it’s been, Goldberg transcending the sport by
becoming the fist legitimate athlete to become a wrestling superstar.
For him, football was now an afterthought, becoming WCW Champion and
figureheading the league now his full time job.
So imagine
Goldberg’s surprise when his agent sent him the script for a remake of
the 1974 classic The Longest Yard, star and producer Adam
Sandler wanting him to take one of the lead roles. “I was in shock,”
said the gigantic actor. “Not only that they asked me, although that
did kind of take me aback a bit, but that I was going to get a chance
to be involved remaking my favorite movie of all time. With Sandler,
[Chris] Rock and Burt [Reynolds] already onboard, there was definitely
no way I was going to turn them down.”
But even the thrill
of working with friends and an icon had to pale, if only just a
little, to joy of putting back on the pads and once again getting a
chance to play the game he used to love. “Well, it definitely gave me
a different way to [work] out my frustrations, that’s for sure,” said
Goldberg. “At least, a different way than any I’ve got a chance to
know for quite sometime now. If anything, I really tried to do as much
onscreen in regards to playing the game as my body would allow.
Whenever they asked me to do something, tackling, running, hitting,
heck, even head-butting, in the end I made sure to give them as much
as I could. I tell you, though, I’m 38 now and playing football hurts.
I hadn’t been so sore in ages.”
Still, as much fun
as getting to play football again was, it must be tiring for the
aspiring actor to be typecast (what with one-dimensional roles in
films like Universal Soldier II, Ready to Rumble and
Looney Tunes: Back in Action) as a freakishly big heavy all the
time. “Yes, unfortunately, but then that’s the nature of the business.
Heck, it’s the main reason I’ve lost so much weight. On this shoot
alone I lost 30 pounds. Even now, I’m still working hard to slim
myself down a bit. Not that I want to be tiny by any means, but it
would be nice to get to the point where I can get the opportunity to
get some different roles.”
“But then,” said
Goldberg, “like I said, that’s the nature of the business. Even The
Rock when he made the transition from wrestling to features had to
encounter this sort of typecasting, and I’m sure it is something I’m
going to have to work really hard to get through. Hopefully I’ll
continue to be able to branch out in the future. It’s definitely what
I want to work towards.”
For right now,
though, Goldberg finds himself still very excited about the The
Longest Yard. “We filmed much of it in an actual prison in Sante
Fe, New Mexico,” said the actor. “It really helped make for an
interesting tone. The shoot actually happened in a separate wing of
the prison, a section that was closed down years prior to our coming
there. But you certainly knew the prisoners were there and that was
pretty unsettling for some people. Not for me, but some – not that I’m
going to mention who – certainly got a bit uneasy.”
And what about the
possibility the film might actually promote antisocial behavior, that
it celebrates being a convict? “I don’t see it like that at all,” said
Goldberg. “There is nothing like that in regards to what we’ve done.
The movie is a comedy. A little antisocial, sure, but then so was the
original and you sure as heck didn’t see anyone running around
claiming it celebrated prison life [in 1974]. No, that wasn’t on my
agenda and it sure as heck wasn’t on Adam’s or [director] Peter [Segal]’s.
Personally, I sure as heck don’t have any sympathy for those people.
They obviously did something to get where they are and I’m sure they
deserve everything they’re getting. This is a movie. Anyone that takes
it as more is wrong.”
Playing football,
running around a real prison, remaking his favorite movie of all-time;
it seems like the thrills never stopped for Goldberg while shooting
The Longest Yard. But what about the first time the wrestler’s
teenage icon Reynolds walked on set for the first time? “That was
awesome,” said the actor. [Burt] was just amazing. I mean, I’ve been
friends with Adam for a while, and I’d met Chris a number of times
before this, but Burt – I’d never met Burt before. The first time he
walked on set he came over and made me feel like his long-lost buddy.
It was great. He was a nicer guy than I could have ever imagined. He
was just great.”
So what’s next for
the still evolving superstar? “Well, I just got married so I’d like to
go on a honeymoon sometime soon for gosh sakes,” chuckled Goldberg.
“We married April 10, but she’s a stuntwoman and I’ve been running
around promoting this movie so it’s been work nonstop since the
ceremony for the both of us. Of course, there are worse things in
life. We’re just going to keep going out there for the time being and
keep getting our jobs done. I promise you this, though: When we do get
a chance to get away, it’s going to be a vacation neither of us is
ever going to forget!”
