Getty Images
You hear the phrase often nowadays.
“Last night was a movie”. “That game was a movie”. “Last SEASON was a MOVIE”.
It almost was for the Colts. It had all the makings of a Hollywood script.
Down and out heading into the season. Questions surrounding the team. A bunch of new faces (Major League who are these guys gif).
Then, there was the montage moment winning streak. You know the one. Newspaper clippings flipping onto the screen, highlights of them running up the score ending with a radio call of Matt Taylor saying something along the lines of “Oh baby! You DO NOT want to come across this Colts team now.”
But we know the ending. It wasn’t the perfect one, but it set up a really good sequel for 2019. SO, what else do you do on a Colts off day when you don’t have to be a Grand Park?
You cast that movie – in an ideal world, that is.
Let’s start at the top.
Jack Nicholson As Jim Irsay
(Photo Credit: Joe Robbins | Getty Images)
This one was easy.
The voice, the outgoing personality, the aura surrounding both of them – it screams someone who could play the owner of NFL team and garner the same amount of respect from the fellow cast members that Jim Irsay receives from his players.
Mr. Irsay, all we want is to know the truth about Andrew Luck’s inju- YOU CAN”T HANDLE THE TRUTH!
Matt Damon as Chris Ballard
(Photo Credit: Jeffrey Brown, Alberto E. Rodriguez | Getty Images)
Chris Ballard is a smooth operator. Always calm, cool, collected, smart, and great behind a mic.
Matt Damon is all of those in real life and on the big screen. Plus, their eyes, hair, and general face structure is pretty similar. It would be interesting to see the legendary Boston kid take on Ballard’s southern drawl, but hey, that’s what you’re an Academy Award winner for right, Matt?
Daniel Day-Lewis as Frank Reich
(Photo Credit: Jason Merritt, Michael Reaves | Getty Images)
Who can’t Daniel Day-Lewis play?
Lewis would be so in character taking on the role of the silver fox Reich that he’d be going around the streets of Indianapolis with a headset and shortsleeve quarterzip answering every questions with “1{5dd8c7b63a028b9b3d9631c150841b4edbdaa573473167044a48eb9cc9fbf1fb} better everyday” before the first table read.
Christian Bale as Andrew Luck
(Photo Credit: Jason Kempin, Steve Granitz | Getty Images)
Sure, he may not be 6’4, but Bale is taller than you’d think. I was 5 yards away from him at this year’s Indy 500 thinking he’d be your typical Hollywood star standing at the equivalent height to your nephew in 6th grade, but he was a solid 6’0.
That’s giant for the movies.
Plus, that voice. What actor would be able to pull off Luck’s voice and maneurisms?
Christian Bale. He’s a character actor. The Fighter, Vice, even Batman saw this dude from the UK completely transform into an absolutely believable role.
He’d nail Luck, and I’d love love to see it.
Anthony Mackie as T.Y. Hilton
(Photo Credit: Anthony Harvey, Michael Hickey | Getty Images)
Mackie has been in the game for a while, and he’s played some pretty huge roles. He’s taken on 2pac, Falcon in the Marvel universe, people forget he was PAPA DOC IN 8 MILE.
And a nice little bonus here is he has experience playing a football player in a movie. He was Nate Ruffin, the captain and hard-hitting safety, in We Are Marshall.
Marlon Wayans as Eric Ebron
(Photo Credit: D. Dipasupil, Joe Robbins | Getty Images)
Eric Ebron is a clown. By far the biggest character on the Colts. That’s why Marlon Wayans would be the perfect fit here. Both have big smiles, charming personalities, and they bring the funny.
The biggest question is can he bring the sass strut like Ebron?
Derek Luke as Darius Leonard
(Photo Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez, Wesley Hitt | Getty Images)
Luke is another dude like Mackie who has played some big time-based-on-a-true-story characters.
He was Puff Daddy/P-Diddy/Sean Combs/Puffy/Diddy in “Notorious” and he has experience playing a football star on screen. “Y’all wanna win let Boobie spin!” Luke played the infamous Boobie Miles in Friday Night Lights.
Also Christian Bale as Quenton Nelson
(Photo Credit: Jason Kempin, Bobby Bank | Getty Images)
“BUT YOU ALREADY HAVE HIM PLAYING LUCK! HE CAN’T PLAY TWO PEOPLE ESPECIALLY WITH HOW HUGE QUENTON NELSON IS!”
Again, have you seen “Vice”? Bale somehow becomes Dick Cheney. Dick Cheney, a grumpy, growling old man with white hair and weighs 300 pounds.
Yeah, that’s him in that GIF. Plus, they both already kind of have a natural lisp when they speak.
Others who made the list, but didn’t make it here:
Donald Glover as Kenny Moore, Chris Pratt as Jack Doyle, and Mark Ruffalo as Adam Vinatieri.
Nothing like off days. Hopefully this season is so good it would turn into a movie.
Any title ideas or casting suggestions? Let me know @JoeyMulinaro.
