Hardball, a 2001 sports comedy-drama, did not garner favourable reviews from reviewers. There is more than enough corn in Hardball, according to Variety’s Robert Koehler, and the Brian Robbins-helmed movie is “simply horrible,” according to Moira Macdonald of the Seattle Times. Keanu Reeves was nominated for a Razzie Award for worst actor for his performance as the slob-turned-role model Conor O’Neill. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the movie scored fairly well with viewers, earning a respectable 70 percent of the vote.
Because of the movie’s cast of snarky Chicago middle schoolers and Keanu’s, well, Keanu-ness, it’s fair to argue that Hardball has aged very well when viewed years later. But what actually happened to those kids? Except for Michael B. Jordan from Black Panther, you most likely haven’t seen any of these championship ballers since. Let’s find out what the Kekambas and their team have been up to since winning and have a look at the current cast of Hardball.
Bryan Hearne — Andre Ray Peetes
When Hardball first came out in theatres, it was simple to believe that Bryan Hearne, the movie’s kid star, had a bright acting future. Along with being the charming and fashionable Andre Ray Peetes, he was well-known to most children as a regular on the popular Nickelodeon sketch comedy series All That.
Hearne’s acting career, surprisingly, got stuck between first and second. Despite having played Little Trucky in Pootie Tang, the young actor was never cast in another notable or major part. Instead, he only made brief cameos on The Unit, Taina, Whoopi, Lie to Me, and Everybody Hates Chris.
Because of the failure of his acting career, Hearne switched to rapping. He raps under the moniker Bryan Christopher and claims to be “the one who provided Amanda Bynes the narcotics that made her the way she is now,” among other things. It’s safe to presume Hearne’s rap career has likewise failed because his video for “Hopscotch” has only a few likes on YouTube.
DeWayne Warren — Jarius ‘G-Baby’ Evans
Without “G-Baby,” the assistant who is plainly too young to play but who breaks it down quickly, finally wins the smallest jersey, and leads the Kekambas to victory with a game-winning rip down the first-base line, hardball would be nothing. He’s also to blame for a few too tough-to-cry fathers who brought their kids to see the movie in theatres breaking down in private.
Actor DeWayne Warren only acted in La Femme Vampir and La Femme Vampir 2 after Hardball. Not familiar with them? Nobody else has either, although a press announcement from 2009 claims that the horror movie starring Veronica Grey and Joe Estevez is about “Chinese diva China is the leader of supernatural female creatures that control the nightlife and underworld in Chicago. These extraterrestrial creatures—mistaken for vampires—leave a path of murder and ruin in their wake as they work to collect a certain DNA, specifically that of young Chicagoan Angelie. Beyond crop circles, cow mutilations, ghost children, and blood, the conflict continues.” Looks legitimate.
Diane Lane — Elizabeth Wilkes
Thanks to her roles in George Roy Hill’s 1979 picture A Little Romance, The Outsiders, and A Walk on the Moon, Diane Lane had already made a name for herself in Hollywood before taking on the part of the tough and uncompromising middle-school teacher Elizabeth Wilkes in Hardball.
Lane continued to appear and play supporting roles in a number of movies, such as The Perfect Storm, Under the Tuscan Sun, Cinema Verite, and Trumbo, after providing O’Neill with a career and some romance. Wilkes is also well-known to fans of the superhero genre for playing Martha Kent in Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Justice League.
It’s clear that Lane hasn’t aged a day since the debut of Hardball in 2001. She will next be featured in Steven Knight’s American noir thriller Serenity, which also stars Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jason Clarke, Djimon Hounsou, and Jeremy Strong.
John Hawkes — Ticky Tobin
Don’t be misled by John Hawkes’ poor supporting performance as the shady ticket-seller and gambler Ticky Tobin in Hardball; he plays one of the movie’s most talented actors, despite not being the most well-known.
Although Hawkes is well-known for playing the trader Sol Star in the HBO Western blockbuster Deadwood, his most notable performance was perhaps as the meth junkie Teardrop Dolly in Winter’s Bone, for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In the independent film The Sessions from 2012, Hawkes also portrayed Mark O’Brien, a poet who was disabled from polio and hired a sex surrogate to steal his virginity. The actor received numerous award nominations for both performances, as well as some wins.
In addition, Hawkes later appeared as Dustin Powers, Kenny Powers’ brother, in the HBO baseball comedy Eastbound & Down. He is also set to appear in the 2018 TV series Too Old to Die Young. But let’s face it, everyone is simply anticipating the Deadwood comeback.
Julian Griffith — Jefferson Albert Tibbs
Julian Griffith portrays the inhaler-wielding character One of the more endearing and endearing characters on the Kekambas is Jefferson Albert Tibbs, making it all the more odd that he, like many others on the team, never achieved more success on the big screen. Griffith only has one other acting role to his name, which he played as a patrolman in a single Chicago P.D. episode, aside from Hardball.
Griffith did, however, have some success as a baseball player in real life. The first baseman for the Kekambas eventually made it to the major leagues, playing for the Fort Worth Cats in Ft. Worth, Texas, where he played both catcher and outfielder and batted a very respectable.329.
Nowadays, Griffith mostly instructs professional baseball players. You can follow him on Instagram, where he occasionally posts clips of himself ripping the ball’s cover off in the batting cage.
Keanu Reeves — Conor O’Neill
The indisputable star of Hardball is Keanu Reeves, who portrays Conor O’Neill, a washed-up nobody who smokes excessive amounts of cigarettes and has a major gambling problem. In 106 minutes, we see Reeves transform from a poor loser who can’t even find a pair of pants that fit him to a well-dressed hero who has a lasting impact on the lives of ten inner-city kids. It’s genuinely endearing.
Reeves returned to his more well-known role as Neo in The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions after taking his kids to the championship (and a Cubs game), and went on to prominently appear in Something’s Gotta Give, Constantine, The Lake House, A Scanner Darkly, John Wick, and John Wick: Chapter 2 to name a few.
Reeves is still known for being understated, well-groomed, and covertly benevolent today, and fans of the gun-fu genre will be thrilled to hear that he will star in John Wick: Chapter 3. Filming for the third entry in the Chad Stahelski-directed film series began on April 26, 2018.
Kris D. Lofton — Clarence
Another actor who earned their start in Hardball is Kris D. Lofton, who plays the unmemorable Clarence. He did, however, go on to experience some degree of success in his acting career, albeit not nearly the same level as Michael B. Jordan.
Lofton mostly made a series of one-off appearances on various television shows after winning the “ship with the Kekambas.” Detroit 1-8-7, Chicago Fire, The Game, Single Ladies, Chicago P.D., Empire, Up North, The Quad, Tim and Eric’s Bedtime Stories, and Get Shorty were among the television shows in which he made one or two episodes appearances.
Lofton has recently had more screen time thanks to his recurring part as Kisan Teague in the Netflix series Ballers, which is unquestionably his most important performance to date. In addition, 2018 should be a good year for the actor, who will also be filming Same Difference and appearing in Three-Sixty (360), The Mission, and Cases.
Michael B. Jordan — Jamal
Although he didn’t get to play much baseball, Michael B. Jordan, the most well-known of the Kekambas, got his start in Hardball, save from a brief stint on The Sopranos and Cosby. Instead, Jamal’s portrayal serves as an illustration of what may occur when youngsters in inner-city projects aren’t permitted to play. They (use gangs).
After Hardball’s credits rolled, Jordan really took off, unlike the rest of the team who really complied with the league’s age restrictions. He later landed roles on television, including Wallace in The Wire, Reggie in All My Children, Nate Warren in The Assistants, Vince Howard in Friday Night Lights, Alex in Parenthood, and cameos in a plethora of well-known shows.
Jordan is most recognised for his work with director Ryan Coogler in the motion pictures Fruitvale Station, Creed, and Black Panther, which are all part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The next year’s Fahrenheit 451 and Creed II will include Jordan.
Michael Perkins — Kofi Evans
Michael Perkins unquestionably gave one of the most memorable and moving performances in Hardball as the irate but baseball-loving Kofi Evans. Unexpectedly, that was his only notable performance to date.
Perkins took a 15-year break from acting after Hardball to pursue other opportunities. However, he made another appearance in Curious?, a TV movie and subsequent series, as well as one episode of #Adulting. Kofi must have been busy doing something else in the interim, right?
Because “Ain’t nothing off limits once it hits the couch,” Perkins also hosts a podcast from his couch called Live from the Couch in addition to maintaining an active Instagram account. Couples that Hit Each Other, It’s a White Thing, Killmonger for President, LeBron All-Star MVP, MLK Day, and You Ain’t Famous are just a few of the topics covered. On iTunes, you can find episodes that are free to download if you’re interested in checking it out.
You’ll have to find some copies of the movies and watch them to judge for yourself because there aren’t really any reviews from which to draw a conclusion about the quality of the work. You may keep up with Warren and his family on Instagram in the interim.
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