Mike Francesa and his talents extend well beyond just sports radio, he can do almost anything. And if you don’t believe that, just ask him.
During an episode of The Mike Francesa Podcast last week, the former WFAN host received an email from a listener who praised his performance in Uncut Gems and asked the 68-year-old whether he’s thought about pursuing other acting gigs.
Despite being a “natural” actor, Mike Francesa reveals that he has no immediate plans to pursue a career in Hollywood after his wildly successful ‘Uncut Gems’ cameo. pic.twitter.com/qdvFyj3HHx
— Funhouse (@BackAftaThis) January 23, 2023
“Has anybody else contacted me about doing any acting? The answer’s no,” Francesa admitted. “They have not. Would I listen? Absolutely. I love doing it. I really liked working with Sandler. But I do like doing it. I think it comes fairly natural to me, I didn’t need a lot of takes.”
It’s no surprise that Francesa is a natural at acting, he’s a well-rounded talent. Francesa is obviously a legendary radio personally, but he also recently stated he’d be great at hosting an alternate cast on TV, and previously noted he could thrive as a football coach in the NFL. Now we can add acting to the list. To Francesa’s credit, his minor role alongside Adam Sandler in Uncut Gems was really good a few years ago. And no, I’m not the listener who posed the question to Big Mike.
The problem with acting for Francesa, however, is that they do a lot of takes even though he doesn’t need a lot of takes. Francesa could get his lines perfect on the first take every time, but movie directors will still run it back to try something different or change the camera angle.
“I’m always a guy that likes to do things in one take,” Francesa said. “I like to handle things live, that’s always been my way.”
That makes sense for someone like Francesa who thrived in radio for more than three decades. There’s a unique energy when creating live content. It falls short of taping or prerecording something that can just be scrapped and restarted.
Francesa later clarified that he’s not seeking any specific roles or attempting to break into Hollywood. But, that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t take the call. And for any film directors who are interested in working with Francesa, just know he’s a natural actor, and natural actors don’t come cheap.
[The Mike Francesa Podcast, via Funhouse]
