You’d think that “Hoop Dreams,” the documentary about the emergence of two basketball-playing Chicago teenagers, was one of Kyrie Irving’s favorite movies growing up. Or maybe you’re thinking of Denzel Washington’s film “He Got Game,” starring former Celtics great Ray Allen as the wayward high school basketball player Jesus Shuttlesworth.
If you ran through the whole filmography of the 1990s and 2000s, you’d never predict “Rent,” the 2005 film musical about struggling musicians battling with HIV/AIDS in New York City and singing “Seasons of Love.” But that’s exactly what the Celtics guard told Boston.com earlier this month at the Boston Harbor Hotel.
“Love the acting in that movie,” Irving stated. “I’m singing a bunch of songs about life, as well as the storyline behind it.” It was rather simple to follow the issues they were dealing with.”
In fact, a musical assisted in the resolution of one of Irving’s personal issues when, during his final year of high school, he landed a part in his school’s production of “High School Musical.”
“I was like, ‘OK, I’m pretty uncomfortable speaking in front of crowds of people,’” said Irving. “And because I wanted to overcome that fear, I decided to audition for the play that year.” I believe it provided me with an opportunity to demonstrate my voice as well as my emotional pull in certain areas within a scenario.”
A few years later, Irving appeared in another playful and amusing role, this time as the septuagenarian hoopster Uncle Drew in a Pepsi Max short film. The short became a YouTube sensation, inspiring sequels, on-air advertising, and now, six years later, a feature film.
In “Uncle Drew,” which hits theaters on Friday, Dax (Lil Rel Howery) invites the titular protagonist (Irving) to play for his team in the Rucker Classic street ball tournament in Harlem, with a $100,000 prize in mind. Uncle Drew is interested, but only if he can choose his own teammates, a collection of old basketball players who were once Rucker Park legends.
Though the methods of preparing for a major feature picture role and an NBA game appear to be quite different, Irving said he approached “Uncle Drew” in many of the same ways he prepares for practices and games.
“It’s all part of the strive for perfection,” Irving explained. “It’s working on a craft that you feel passionate about.”
Irving claimed on set that the day before a shot, he’d have his best friend print out his lines and sit in his room, reading them over and over until he understood every one of them. This is comparable to the preparation method utilized by many NBA players, who will shoot a specific shot until they can make it 10, 20, or even 50 times in a row without missing.
“I didn’t want to keep looking at my sheet being like, ‘What are my lines?’” Irving stated. “I didn’t want that at all. I wanted to make my move into being a certified actor in a film as smooth as possible.”
Being a “certified actor” in “Uncle Drew” required putting in a lot of time not only memorizing lines but also in the makeup chair. Irving estimated that at first, he spent about three and a half hours every day transforming into Uncle Drew, though his staff subsequently reduced that to two hours.
“Over time, we just got better at it,” Irving explained. “I got more comfortable with what they had to do, and it was pretty easy.”
Not only did the makeup team for “Uncle Drew” likely keep busy, but so did Irving’s senior colleagues Preacher (Chris Webber), Lights (Reggie Miller), Big Fella (Shaquille O’Neal), Boots (Nate Robinson), and Betty Lou (Lisa Leslie).
