Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett could pursue acting as a career if he wanted. At least that’s what Esquire thought after watching him in Adam Sandler’s Uncut Gems. Garnett famously played himself, more accurately, the version of him from the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals. So the question is, how did he get so good? And how was he able to keep up with a seasoned veteran like Sandler, who is famous for his on-set improvisation?
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Garnett recently joined Marques Johnson and Kris Johnson for an episode of Hear District. Marques, who also played himself in the film, told KG that, upon watching it again recently, he felt completely blown away by story between Sandler’s character and the theme of the film.
Marques particularly pointed out one scene that Garnett shared with Sandler in which he buys an opal for a huge sum of money. Garnett was so convincing in that moment that Marques wondered if he had truly prepared for it like he would have for a game and if he had an acting tutor help him out with the process.
KG began by complimenting Marques, saying, “First off, I thought you killed your part. That part to me is legendary in film. You know how we talk about the gun line? … You know how you hit one-liners? … It’s classic lines in our culture that will go in our brain with us. I want to give you your flowers for that, bro, because everybody knows what you mean?”
“I was raised off you, bro. Real talk. To hear you give me that is everything,” Garnett added, thanking Marques for the praise. Garnett then went on to ask the most prudent question, “Can you mess up being yourself?”
Marques’ answer was simple. Yes, you can, especially if you’re not in the moment, like “if you’re tripping about being on camera and all these people in the room and all the lights and this and that,” Marques enlightened Garnett.
Marques went on explain the process further, stating that Garnett himself was locked in to his performance. “Inhabiting a character, not just being a character. Even though it was KG, but that’s kind of misleading because you had to play [someone] that’s going through some things. Maybe you’re not superstitious. Maybe you don’t believe in the power of an opal that will make you play better … you can totally F it up man, you can totally f it up even if you’re just playing yourself,” he added.
Garnett then revealed that, even though he wasn’t in those exact situations, he’s experienced similar settings. “A lot of stuff that was going on, at least with me, was parallel to be able to meet the energy. When [Adam Sandler] came in here, he showed me the opal, I was like, ‘Man, why would you show me something’ … he was witty within the whole thing,” explained Garnett.
Sandler, however, did manage to catch Garnett off guard on a few occasions. “What was bugging me out was, I am structured. So we are going off-script, and then he would go off and go into something totally different, and we would be all improvising, and it would be a big freestyle in here,” Garnett told Marques.
“You think we prepare in the NBA? This is the reason why you don’t see me in films. I have so much respect for Hollywood … Like, the time you are on set, the time you practice, the time your rehearsed … You rehearsed so much that it comes off like second nature,” KG added.
“We started with my book being like this (a few pages), and he started doing that freelance, freestyling. Next thing I know, my pages are like this (much thicker) … I was like, ‘Whoa, whoa! I am not an actor. I can’t remember all this.’ And they were like, ‘ No, how would you say this in a conversation?’ So I was like, ‘So, if you let me do that, okay, let’s do it,’” explained KG.
“I couldn’t mess up Kevin. If there’s one person I can’t mess up, it’s me,” the former Celtics star added. The Hall of Famer also explained that he’s been able to draw parallels from his real life. He also thanked the producers and the director for being patient and allowing him the grace to curate that energy and turn on a magical performance.
Unfortunately, Garrnett is one and done with acting. He asserts that this is how he would like to end his Hollywood career. To be fair to him, that film would be difficult for Sandler to top, so as a non-actor, should Garnett retire, he will have done it while at his peak.
