We all know that James Earl Jones, who sadly passed away at 93, blew audiences playing the powerful Sith Lord Darth Vader. But, we can’t forget when he played the lovable Mr. Mertle in The Sandlot. Apparently, neither can the young Sandlot players from the movie either. Patrick Renna, who played Ham in the great baseball movie, tells the sweet story of meeting the Star Wars actor on set. And as you can imagine, Darth Vader is involved.
Considering the pop cultural phenomenon that Star Wars movies have become since 1977, young fans must have been so lucky to be able to work with one of the prolific actors from the franchise. The Sandlot’s Patrick Renna sure has who had an interesting story to tell on The Rich Eisen Show back in 2023 about not getting a lot of screentime with the veteran actor:
Here was there for a day and he had this huge trailer and he’s larger than life and he’s famous James Earl Jones. We’re all like speechless and he was so cool. But, we also were all supposed to have a scene with him and the director changed it to just having Scotty Smalls and Benny in the scene with him. So, we didn’t even act with him. We just, I think, were like, he just looked at us and laughed in one scene.
It’s true that the only scene all of The Sandlot kids had with James Earl Jones was when Scotty Smalls and Benny brought back The Beast to Mr. Mertle while the rest of the kids fearfully stood behind. The two explained to him all of the trouble they went through retrieving a baseball in his yard. Mr. Mertle laughs at them that they could have knocked on the door and he would have gotten the ball for them. He then asked Benny and Scotty Smalls inside the house to talk baseball with them while the rest of the boys stood behind.
Considering all of this happened because of Smalls’ ball and Benny being a baseball aficionado, it makes sense for the scene to involve only the three of them. And with Scotty and Benny being the more serious boys of the bunch, the scene would provide more meaning with their encounter with the former professional baseball player.
Even though Patrick Renna didn’t have a lot of screentime with James Earl Jones in one of the best ‘90s family movies, he still got to interact with him on set when the cameras were off. Star Wars fans, you’re gonna love this part of the sweet story:
None of us had the guts to talk to him. Marty York goes up to him and goes, ‘Sir, I hear you’re James Earl Jones’ or something like that. He said, ‘You were Darth Vader in Star Wars?’ And he looked at him and said, ‘No, I am your father!’ (laughs) It was the only time any of us talked to him. Yeah, it was pretty great.
That’s got to be the best thing the Darth Vader actor himself can say to a young Star Wars fan! The Sandlot truly is one of James Earl Jones’ greatest performances outside of the George Lucas franchise. He played a character whose deep voice and tall build may come off as intimidating at first, but The Beast’s owner is actually a kind-hearted man and a great neighbor to have if you want conversations with a former baseball player. Every time Jones laughed or smiled with the kids, you could see a kind spirit come out of the actor known for playing a terrifying villain from a galaxy far, far away. He truly made the role his own.
The cast of The Sandlot must have felt incredibly lucky to get to work with James Earl Jones. The family-sports film truly has stood the test of time for reminding us why baseball is America’s pastime and for showing Jones’ friendly versatility and range in a brand new role for him. You can watch the Star Wars alumni shine playing Mr. Mertle available on your Hulu subscription.