Danny Glover talks acting, 'Angels in the Outfield' at Salt Lake Comic Con 2014

When I tell people that I work for Salt Lake Comic Con, they generally have two responses: either "Really?" or "What's that?" How anyone at this point - especially those who live in Utah - can say that they have never heard of Salt Lake Comic Con is beyond me, but that's beside the point. While I was working during Salt Lake Comic Con 2014 in September, I had a few opportunities to mingle with the famous folks and do some interviews. Some of the interviews I got to do were pretty short. I mean, I guess the celebrities are kind of busy, you know, signing autographs and meeting thousands of their fans and stuff like that, so I'll let it slide. But, with that being said, some of these interviews are fairly concise and don't really provide enough content for me to write an article out of them. Therefore, I think I'll just post some of them here in the Underground for you lovely people to read.

One of the guests that came to the convention that I really wanted to meet was Danny Glover. He is probably most well-known for his "Lethal Weapon" movies, but I've never seen those, so that wasn't a big draw for me. But, as a child growing up in the '90s, one role that I absolutely remember Mr. Glover from was his performance as George Knox, the grumpy manager for the California Angels in Disney's "Angels in the Outfield." ("GO BACK TO CINCINNATI!") One of my goals for Comic Con was to talk to him about the movie and, perhaps, get him to sign a baseball for me. Here's the interview:

So… I actually wrote your bio that we put on our website and so I learned a lot about your career. You’ve done a lot of stage acting... Is that right?

“Yeah. … Well, I mean, it was great training for me, you know? It was a great place to start because it provides the foundation. You learn to use your body, voice... So the voice becomes an instrument, you know? And then you engage with an audience, so it’s not like you’re engaged with this one-dimensional thing, like in television – you’re engaged with an audience. I think … it was essential for my growth. … It gives you an immediate gratification, that night. So, you’ve got these 400 times that you do a performance, and each time you’re getting an immediate gratification.”

Can you tell me about “Angels in the Outfield”? That was one of my favorite movies, growing up, so I was wondering the kind of experience you had with that.

“Well, you know, it’s one of those kinds of movies – it’s a classic movie – I mean, it had been done before, but it was really… I mean, it was one of those movies that I’m surprised … what kind of legs it has, you know? And I must have seen it… When I was in the store – in the grocery store – just a few weeks after it was released, a little boy was staring at me – he may have been five, six years old – he just kept staring at me, and then I turned around – I was in the grocery department, in the fresh vegetable department – and then he looked at me and he walked away and he whispered to his mom, ‘Mom, Mom, there’s the coach.’ … That boy’s in college, finished with college now, you know? So it’s all good.”

While I was right there, I figured I'd get his autograph.

One final thing that would … make my dreams come true [would be] if you could sign my baseball. Can you do that?

“Ok. All right.”

...and then he did. My happiness defied description.

Lastly, I leave you with one of the best scenes from "Angels in the Outfield":