Catching Up With Actor & Writer Bo Eason

Former NFLer Bo Eason Pens, Stars In One-Man Show

Being a safety in the NFL requires versatility. BO EASON, who played the position for the Houston Oilers from ’84-89, can attest to that. He remains a versatile performer today as writer and star of the off-Broadway “Runt of the Litter.” Currently enjoying an open-ended run at 37 Arts Theatre in Manhattan, the play is an autobiographical one-man show about an NFL safety named Jack Henry who is about to play his brother’s team in the Super Bowl; TONY EASON was a Patriots QB from ’83-89. Bo has also appeared in films and TV shows, and is currently involved in several screenwriting projects, including an adaptation of “Runt of the Litter” and the story of the ’24 U.S. Olympic Rugby team. Staff Writer Preston Bounds caught up with Bo prior to an evening performance.

Hometown: Walnut Grove, California
Current Residence: L.A.
Favorite Plays: “Death Of A Salesman” and “Henry V”
Favorite Sports Movies: “Hoosiers,” “Bull Durham,” and “Brian’s Song”
Most Underrated Actor in Showbiz: “Clive Owen”
Best Safety Currently in NFL: ED REED (Ravens) or BOB SANDERS (Colts)
Super Bowl Prediction: Patriots 24, Giants 17

Q: As an ex-Oiler, are you more likely to root for the Titans or the Texans?

Eason: I have more of an affinity for the Titans.

Q: What’s the biggest challenge of adapting “Runt of the Litter” from a one-man show to a screen format?

Eason: It’s actually easier to open it up rather than have one person tell the whole story and play all the characters.

Q: How often does Hollywood get it right when it does sports movies?

Eason: Not very often. It’s a hard genre to pull off, because most actors, you put a ball in their hand and they look like an idiot. There’s just a certain way that athletes carry themselves. The best ones, like JIMMY CAAN and BILLY DEE WILLIAMS in “Brian’s Song,” they were athletic looking. They could move. In “Hoosiers,” those kids knew how to play basketball. In “Bull Durham,” even though TIM ROBBINS looked a little goofy pitching, it was his character, so it worked. And obviously, KEVIN COSTNER knows how to play baseball because he played at Cal State Fullerton.

Q: What is the biggest misconception the average person has about the NFL?

Eason: That the players are dumb.

Q: What is the biggest misconception that people in sports have about the entertainment business?

Eason: That everybody in it makes a gazillion dollars.

Q: What appeals to you most about the ’24 rugby team screenplay project?

Eason: I love the story because it’s about two brothers who put this rag-tag team together when there wasn’t rugby in America. The French were so good that no country would play them. So these brothers just went and got a bunch of farm hands, football players, an all-American basketball player, rodeo guys, the roughest guys they could find. They learned Rugby on the ship to Europe and then went and beat the French for the gold medal in Paris.

Q: What’s the key for making the transition to life after football?

Eason: There’s no bigger high, no thrill like playing at that level in front of that many people with that much on the line. But you’re finished at such a young age, so there’s got to be some kind of crossover where these guys can get some education or therapy so they can make the transition. What you’ve been paid to do for so many years is to really hurt people, and now you’re a regular person, and you’ll go to jail for that. When I finished playing, I bought a little bass boat and I fished every day for a year alone on the Sacramento River, and that was my therapy and how I put football to sleep to start my new life.

Eason's Brother Tony Quarterbacked Patriots For Seven Seasons

Q: How do you think your college playing experience at UC-Davis differed from Tony's at a big school like Illinois?

Eason: I remember him being kind of envious of my experience, because it was very family-oriented and you played football for fun. There were no scholarships there at that time, and the coaches were more like your peers. If you had to miss practice to study, there were no questions asked. Now can you imagine that at a Big Ten school?

Q: When Tony was playing for the Patriots, did you ever foresee the franchise reaching its present level?

Eason: I never really thought about it while we were playing, but it’s hard to predict because if the right coach comes along – like a BILL WALSH, CHUCK NOLL, BILL BELICHICK or TOM LANDRY – those guys are so rare. They only come around once a decade, so that’s why each decade is dominated by a single team.

Q: Has the Hollywood writers strike affected you?

Eason: I can’t write right now, so it has affected me a lot. But I was kind of lucky because just as the strike hit, I got this off-Broadway run, so that took care of me because it doesn’t affect me as a performer and writer for the stage.

Q: What is a sports business story that you will be watching closely?

Eason: I’m keeping an eye on what’s going on with the former players who are having post-concussion syndrome and how the NFL is going to take care of them. These guys really built up the NFL and are just debilitated now.