As Nick in the blockbuster TV comedy, the actor was adored by millions. So will his new comedy The Dink, which he jokes is a \u2018sexier Challengers\u2019, make him even more popular? <\/p>\n
You might assume that Jake Johnson would know a little something about pickleball. The actor is starring in The Dink, a sort of spiritual heir to Dodgeball \u2013 it has a Ben Stiller cameo \u2013 and he plays Dusty Boyd, a former tennis pro turned plucky pickleball upstart. Presumably Johnson took the gig because he has a deep love of the sport, a fondness for its pockmarked balls and weirdly smooth paddles? \u201cNo experience of it whatsoever,\u201d says the actor, cheerfully, on a video call from Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
Yet this underdog of a racket sport, loved by retirees, found him anyway. At the climax of the movie, Dusty must play against an old foe, which meant Johnson had to undertake months of real-life training in pickleball and tennis, so it looked as if he could play. \u201cIt was like WWE. They call it fake wrestling. The outcome is there, but you still have to wrestle. That was probably the most stressful part of the film to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4689febaa648303ba66c074bfc36f2e9f4e4690c\/716_0_5002_4002\/master\/5002.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=66abbee7d6e57b332bf01e1de6fac2fc\" "\\"\u2018New")
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