Beau Bridges & Ryan McPartlin Tackle the Past in GAME TIME

NBC’s latest Family Movie Night production, Game Time: Tackling the Past, stars Beau Bridges and Ryan McPartlin as an estranged father and son who try to mend their relationship. In a conference call with reporters earlier this week, the pair talked about the importance of family and father-son relationships. Beau is the father of five with just the youngest still at home while Ryan is a relatively new father with two very young sons. Listening to them talk, from different ends of the spectrum of fatherhood, was perhaps a precursor to the poignant film unspooling Saturday night on NBC.

Pro football star Jake Walker (Ryan McPartlin, Chuck) is living the dream…or so he thinks. The veteran tight end is a fan favorite and on pace to set the all-time receiving yards record that will guarantee him a spot in the Hall of Fame. While working out at training camp, Jake receives an unexpected call from his brother Dean (Josh Braaten, “Semi-Pro”) – their father Frank (Beau Bridges, The Fabulous Baker Boys) has suffered a major heart attack. Jake immediately leaves practice and returns to Riverton, North Carolina, the small hometown he’s avoided for nearly 15 years. Memories of glory and regret flood his mind as he returns to the family and friends he abandoned in pursuit of his career. Jake dutifully visits with Frank and Dean, but hurt and misunderstanding from the past begins to resurface, leaving him counting the days until he can return to his team. A second unexpected call, this time from his agent, delivers Jake another crushing blow. His contract is not being renewed amid concerns about his surgically repaired knee. Suddenly, the life Jake knows is over. To avoid the media circus around this news, Jake reluctantly decides to extend his stay in Riverton. Can he overcome the mistakes of the past to build a future?

Game Time: Tackling the Past appealed to the men because of its focus on family and on sports, telling a story both could relate to in different ways.

“I have five children so stories that have family as a theme  usually really get my attention,” says Beau. “This one certainly does. Right at the core of the story is this family and how they come together and how they get through difficult times. I also love sports. I love athletics. Ryan and I actually had that in common. We both played athletics on teams in our high school and college years. There was a lot of reoccurring themes in my own life that resonated in this story, and so I jumped at it. I thought it was just a great story. And, I don’t think there’s enough entertainment for families these days, and for young people on television that are appropriate and that are strong and profound stories that people need to hear.”

Ryan played football at the University of Illinois, dreaming of one day playing pro football, but soon realized that wasn’t in the cards. He fell in love with acting and, more than a decade later, when this project came along, it was perfect timing.

“It was interesting when this script came about because it was a role regarding the end of an NFL career,” remembers Ryan. “An athlete that’s you know, making the journey back home to reconnect with his family. And the father/son theme that was in the story as well just – it all kind of came together for me at a perfect time in my life. Because, I got to go back and kind of have that farewell to football; that closure that I never really had, and I really felt that in my performance.”

The father-son dynamic from the movie seems to have carried over into real life. The pair have a noticeable connection, teasing each other and joking around, but also displaying mutual respect and affection as they answer questions from reporters. There seemed to be some mentoring going on between takes as Ryan soaked up stories about being a father from Beau, which was the primary theme of this call as well as the movie. What does it mean to be a good father, a good parent? How can parents help their children build character and achieve their goals?

“In many ways, [my children] are my immortality basically,” says Beau. “They are carrying me on beyond what I can do. They’re doing things that I only dreamed of. And I think that’s part of this story as well that we’re telling. I think my character, I become aware of my sons as men who will hopefully carry on what I started but take it into a whole other level. And that’s the real joy of – and the real payoff for – all the challenges that go into being a good parent. I mean, I think being a good dad is the hardest thing that I’ve ever tried to do and I’ve failed many, many times, and my kids will point that out to me of course. It’s been difficult, but also tremendously rewarding.”

Game Time: Tackling the Past airs Saturday, September 3 at 8/7c on NBC.