Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the original A leg to be stable, actor Geena Davis recently revealed the rule she broke to get her iconic role as Dottie Hinson. Against the likes of Demi Moore and Debra Winger, Davis wasn’t the first in line to play the refined but sturdy receiver, Dottie.
To get the role, Davis needed to show A championship of their own director, Penny Marshall, who was ready to play ball.
‘A leg to be stable auditions involved more than just reading lines
Loosely based on the true story of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL), A leg to be stable it is a powerful feminist story. As such, Marshall knew that casting the film, especially the role of Dottie, had to be about more than who was playing the part. Marshall insisted that all women in the cast had athletic ability.
The auditions involved months of intense training for the actors. Marshall described the Major League Baseball trial (via Hollywood.com), saying:
“There was a great test where they were judged on the run, the grip, the shot. Throwing is always the hardest for girls because they throw differently. But I wouldn’t read (auditions) – and really good – actresses unless they knew how to play football or were trainable.
Geena Davis come ‘A championship of their own Dottie Hinson
It’s hard to imagine the ’92s A leg to be stable without Davis like Dottie Hinson. With a height of one meter and eighty and the perfect mix of femininity and robustness, Thelma e Louise Davis looks like she would have been a cast for the role of the Queen of Diamonds, but Davis nearly lost the role on the advice of her agent.
During a reunion interview to celebrate 30th anniversary of A leg to be stableDavis tells The Hollywood Reporter that her agent at the time gave her advice before meeting Marshall for the audition: “Don’t throw a baseball.”
Davis continues, recalling her meeting with Marshall and saying, “I can go that way: don’t touch a baseball,” says the actor who went to the audition with no athletic background. But, after a successful match, Davis remembers Marshall saying, “Let’s go outside and you throw the ball.”
Following her agent’s advice, Davis politely refused, saying, “Oh, no. I was told you would ask me and I’m sorry. I can not.”
Marshall persisted and Davis finally agreed. “Five minutes later, I was in the yard throwing the ball,” says Davis. “Only one hit convinced her that I would be able to learn how to play.”
Amazon new ‘A leg to be stable serie
Now, the history of the AAGPBL is restarted in a new one A leg to be stable Original Amazon series. Like the classic 1992 film, the series will focus on creating the League; however, new personal stories will be told.
Filming began last July in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania after a casting that required all audition actors to have “knowledge and experience of playing baseball or softball” (CBS News). So, it looks like the new A leg to be stable the series took a note or two from Marshall’s playbook and new stars of the series, like Davis, will need to be able to play ball.
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