and they will probably tell you it is their dream to play professional ball. In fact, many former Woodchuck players can be found all throughout Major & Minor League Baseball. But if you ask if any of them had dreams of being a professional actor or staring in a big budget action movie, most would probably say no. That wasn’t Lance Broadway’s dream either, but now, the 2004 Woodchuck alum and former 1st round pick can put both professional baseball and professional actor on his resume.Broadway plays Agent O’Neil in the big-screen action movie Olympus
Has Fallen. The film stars such talents as Gerard Butler and Aaron Eckhart. Broadway actually plays a pretty big part, as his character is charged with protecting the president (Eckhart). But how does a professional baseball player go from striking out opposing hitters to dodging explosions in a big budget movie?“It’s been a wild ride that’s for sure,” Broadway said. “2010 was my last season (MLB) and in every off season I wanted to get involved with something. And I don’t know why but I just wanted to go take an improv class. The improv class I wanted didn’t start until January 2011, so I asked a friend who told me to go take an acting class. That way at least I will be in front of people doing something while they watch. So I got into an acting class in November 2010. I loved it and stuck with it.”
Broadway was an outstanding college pitcher and highly touted Major League prospect. In two years at Dallas Baptist he earned all conference honors, throwing two no-hitters as a freshman and as a sophomore, he went 10-2 with a 2.82 ERA. He then transferred to TCU where he went 15-1 with a 1.62 ERA and 151 strikeouts. In his one season with the Woodchucks in 2004, he threw the team’s first no-hitter. He later became the first Woodchuck to be drafted in the first round of the MLB draft when he was selected 15th overall by the Chicago White Sox.
To read the complete interview with Lance Broadway about his part in Olympus Has Fallen, check out screenslam.com.
