D. B. Sweeney

I'm a sucker for doing something fun. If somebody wants to pay me to learn how to fly a plane or be a better golfer, that certainly would be a plus - or if it's filming in Tahiti.

I felt like the world of baseball in 1919 was much closer to what A-ball would be now - guys riding buses, there's no training staff, and there's a lot of paranoia.

I was taking hitting clinics every chance I got. I really worked on it. It was just fun to be given that invitation from the director to make the baseball as good as we can.

I'm a huge baseball fan and follow it very closely.

DeNiro did a good job playing a catcher in 'Bang the Drum Slowly,' but he's great in everything he does.

A producer wouldn't think of making a film about ballet dancers without using real dancers, but they will cast actors who have never held a bat in baseball films.

Joe Jackson was a tragic figure. He was a serene country boy who signed a confession he couldn't read. He was illiterate.

The actors in 'Eight Men Out' really know how to play, and the background athletes are all professionals.

All these big corporations like Amazon, those places have great distribution arms, but they can't create content.

Why should a filmmaker turn over the irreplaceable asset, the movie, to a distribution center?

Who needs MGM? Who needs any of these places?

In A-ball, you're either going to move up, or you're going to get released. That kind of paranoia played a lot into the players' mentality leading up to the events of 'Eight Men Out.'

I'm not one of these million-dollar actors. I have always been just a working actor. I probably work more than I would like to.

I have never been one of those actors who say, 'Oh, my character wouldn't do this,' or 'My character never wears an orange shirt,' or any of the number of inane things I've heard on movie sets throughout my career.

'It's a Wonderful Life' was a mainstream Hollywood movie about faith, redemption, religion, and it was rated G.

The great thing for me about 'The Resurrection of Gavin Stone' is it's a throwback to the old fashioned Hollywood movie that you can watch with your family, has a message, and is funny and entertaining. They didn't call them faith-based movies; they just called them good movies.

I've been doing this for 33 years, and sometimes you make movies and nobody cares. But when people care, it's the greatest thing in the world - even when it's passionately against the title - because it's going to start a conversation.

If you learn the craft, you can make a movie and get by with tricks.

More is asked of you on stage. It's no way to make a living. But it's like a bullfight. You find out who can do it and who can't.

My sister Kathleen - one year older - was the school's acting legend. Her thing was getting all the parts, even Tiresias. And I wasn't going to mess with that.

I thought it's very funny that I ended up as a voiceover guy because when I started out as an actor, I had a very strong Long Island accent.

The more I learned about Shoeless Joe, the more I felt he was maligned.

You get a lot of speeding tickets, and you say, 'I'm so unlucky!' No, you're not. You're speeding. Slow down.

When you play on a team, you learn that there will always be five guys you like, a bunch of guys who are OK, and five you despise. The trick to getting along in any system is not to worry about the five you despise.

You have to identify your shot and be 'Push your luck' ready for it.

I got to be good friends with Scott Hamilton.

I wanted to play this part: the goofy rock and roller who can't hang up his guitar when it's clear to everyone else that he should.

Fifty-million-dollar movies gobble up the medium movies. A lot of people aren't working in Hollywood because of this.

With the Red Sox, you have more of a literary interest in it. You know they're going to lose; you're just interested in how the plot is going to unfold.

There's no doubt my having been a ballplayer made me feel a special sense of responsibility to Joe Jackson's life.

I think Joe Jackson is a great American figure. In my opinion, he became a scapegoat.

When I played sports, if you lose the game, and then you complain, that makes you a sore loser. That doesn't make you protester - that just makes you a whiner.

I bat righty.

When you're 47 years old and playing at a world-class level in the fastest sport, and you have zero percent body fat, you need to be brought down a peg as often as possible.

I try to keep a low profile.

I try to have a normal life since I have an abnormal job.

I think it's particularly stupid that filmmakers have traditionally said, 'Yeah, I like baseball, but the movie's not going to be about the intricacies of the game.' I mean, you wouldn't cast an overweight guy with stubble if you were doing a ballet film.

I would love to do another hockey movie. There are a lot of people in Hollywood looking for the right hockey script.

I don't like the NFL, where I think it's a problem: some guy scores a touchdown, now he's got some kind of dance that he planned. To me, I just want to change the channel.

I think Ovechkin is everything the NHL needs.

If Gretzky was velvet, Ovechkin is electricity.

On a movie set, there's so much down time, adjusting the lighting. It gave me time to nap, call my friends, relax, work out. But with TV, there's no break time. None.

I really like the way Fox handles their shows.

You always love to fantasize you'll get your dream role.

When you do a play, or even a movie, you have weeks to finesse your character. You really understand why they do what they do. In TV, you get new material weekly about your character.

I believe in luck. My luck's real streaky.

I think you have to do certain things in the pilot to get your network's attention - to break through... So maybe you push a little further in the first show.

I've seen people who stink, but the film editor shows them just where they didn't stink. But if you're empty and manipulative on stage, it's clear.

I didn't want people to think I'm just in the movies, where you make money and wait around for 13 hours before you get to do 20 minutes of work.

As far as actors go, you're not going to find many ballplayers better than me.