The Secrets Geena Davis Just Shared from A League of Their Own Will Blow You Away
Can you believe it's been almost 25 years since A League of Their Own hit theaters?
At the time, star Geena Davis didn't think that the now-iconic 1992 film—which co-stars Tom Hanks, Madonna, Lori Petty, and Rosie O’Donnell—would secure such a prominent spot in movie history as one of the best sports comedies ever made. And she certainly didn't imagine that Hanks's line "There’s no crying in baseball" would become infamous.
"We knew it was hella funny," Davis told USA Today. "But I didn’t know that was going to be a classic. That line is a signature, right up there with 'Hasta la vista, baby.'"
The actress also revealed that her audition was to simply play baseball in director Penny Marshall's backyard. "(Marshall) wanted to make sure I could throw a ball, so that happened,” shared Davis. “I threw the ball to her, competently got it to her, she caught it and said, ‘Okay.’ That was the whole audition.” The coaches also deemed her a natural, though they didn't use real baseballs on set. "You’re actually hitting in the direction of the camera crew. For close-ups, those balls were squishy. They looked like real baseballs, but they were all spongy inside so we wouldn’t clock anyone," she said.
And as far as doing the splits while catching a foul ball? That was Davis herself. "Penny asked if I could do a split. I said to put it later in the shooting schedule to give me time to work up to it," she said of hte feat. "The thing I did not do was get up from it. My character does a Chuck Berry split and then hops right back up. There was no popping up happening. I was stuck there and had to be helped up.”
But the biggest question mark on set came from wondering what it would be like to work with the one-and-only Madonna. "She was Madonna. We wondered if we were going to be able to talk to her. Was she going to have an entourage? Were they going to put up walls around her where she stands?” Davis recalled. Ultimately the Queen of Pop was a total team player and fit right in with the rest of the cast.
RELATED: Geena Davis and the Cast of A League of Their Own Reunite for a Nostalgic Softball Game
The film celebrates its 25th anniversary on July 1, and you can pick up the new
out now.
