By Mallory Mattingly
Patrick Renna is best-known for his role as Ham Porter in the 1993 classic, THE SANDLOT, and fans still go crazy for him and his castmates.
“It’s really funny when it happens with the other SANDLOT guys, because we’ll be eating dinner, and it could be all eight of us, and someone will [recognize me] and then they’ll even ask one of the other guys to take the photo, and I’ll say, ‘I don’t think you want them on the other side of the camera.’ And they’re like, ‘Why?’ And then I kind of [gesture and] it’s a slow burn. I kind of go, ‘You know who that is?'” Renna told PEOPLE of how fans react to seeing the whole SANDLOT cast, including stars like Tom Guiry, Mike Vitar, Marty York and Chauncey Leopardi.
“And then their eyes bulge out of their head, and they almost pass out when they realize the rest of them are there. It’s kind of a fun one,” he added.
Movieguide® gave THE SANDLOT a +1 content score. Part of the review reads:
Although THE SANDLOT lags in a few places, overall, it maintains an even pace, builds suspense and intrigue, and humorously depicts the trials of growing up. Commendably, the film contains little objectionable save some mild (regrettably) obscenities and a couple of exclamatory profanities. Not wanting to divulge any further information about this delightful film, suffice to say that THE SANDLOT is good, wholesome family entertainment and will cause its viewers to laugh and to rejoice as they leave the theatre wishing that more just plain good movies would come along.
Related: SANDLOT Actor Patrick Renna Welcomes Second Son
The Great Hambino stepped up to the plate last year with the Savannah Bananas as part of the Bananas World Tour. It gave him a chance to reflect on THE SANDLOT’s continued resonance.
“People ask if it ever gets old talking about the same movie for over 30 years. It doesn’t. How could it? I’ve gotten to meet so many amazing people because of it. It’s been passed down through three generations at this point. That’s pretty crazy. Why else would you want to be an actor, director, or filmmaker if not to be part of something that means as much as THE SANDLOT does to so many people?” Renna wrote on Instagram. “…I just wanted to say that moment meant a whole lot to me, and I just wanted to say thank you to all the people who still love this movie us 9 boys made over 3 decades ago.”
His latest project? A Hershey’s ad with his son that is reminiscent of the scene from his iconic movie where he calls out someone else for never having a s’more before — “You’re killin’ me, Smalls!”
According to PEOPLE, the commercial “highlights a playful divide around the ‘right way’ to make a s’more (gooey or toasty) and features Renna and his own son, Flynn, enjoying the campfire treat. Renna says he is fully team toasty, but admits there’s no wrong way to enjoy the classic treat.”
Flynn usually tries to butter up his father so that he can get more chocolate.
“We’ve camped several times and done s’mores,” Renna told PEOPLE. “He’ll just… he’ll try and even get s’mores out of me, like, midweek, on our fire pit in the backyard, and I’m like, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay, hold on, this is a weekend thing.’ I mean, I fail miserably. Listen, it’s not hard to convince me to make a s’more, let’s just say that.”
It looks like Renna is happy to keep going back to THE SANDLOT.
Read Next: SANDLOT Star Patrick Renna Reaches New Audience as Dancing TikTok Dad
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