The ‘All American’ Cast Argues This Actor Can’t Play Football, Despite His Star Status in the Show

Based on the life of former NFL player Spencer Paysinger, All American follows rising football star Spencer James (played by Daniel Ezra) trying to navigate life in Beverly Hills. Originally from South Crenshaw, LA, his two worlds begin to collide on the surface. While the show centers around football, the male actors had to learn the basic rules of the sport. However, the All American cast once admitted that one actor didn’t know how to play football before joining The CW show.

The ‘All American’ cast revealed one actor wouldn’t make the football team

In an exclusive interview with TV Guide, the All American cast named who’s likely not to make the football team. Cody Christian, who plays Asher Adams on the show, said Daniel probably wouldn’t make it past tryouts. “I mean, definitely Daniel because he’s from the UK.” The 26-year-old actor went on to say that Michael Evans Behling (Jordan Baker) would make the team because he’s a complete “stud.” He said, “He’s got a cannon. He could easily replace Tom Brady, for sure.”

Rapper Bre-Z, who portrays Coop on the teen drama, shared that Spencer, aka Daniel, wouldn’t make the team. “Probably Spencer,” she said. “You know he’s British, and [it’s different because] it involves his feet kicking a ball and not throwing it.”

Michael Evans Behling chimed and said Spencer because he’s from the UK. “Daniel, I gotta hit him because he’s from the UK. They have football, but they don’t have American football. So, what he could do now is very impressive.” Samantha Logan (Olivia Baker) agreed with her co-star and said, “Yeah, definitely [Spencer].”

The final person to vote was Daniel himself. Surprisingly, the young actor voted for himself, saying, “Me! Yeah, definitely. We don’t have it in the UK. I played basketball and things like that. So, I had to learn everything from the ground up. I still can’t throw very well, but I can catch.” Since Spencer James is a receiver on the football team, it all works out! 

Daniel Ezra had to watch the NFL network to learn American football

Since Ezra is from England, he watched a lot of the NFL Network to prepare for the role. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, the actor revealed that he carried a football everywhere and trained on a football field. “The real Spencer can’t have his name on a football show, and the football does not look good. That made me feel the extra responsibility of wanting to look as comfortable in the film as possible,” Ezra said. “I bought a football, and I just carried the football around for like a month until we started shooting.”

Why did Daniel Ezra want to play Spencer James in ‘All American’?

In an exclusive interview with TODAY, actor Daniel Ezra discussed what attracted him to the role of Spencer James on All American. The young actor revealed that he wanted to explore the “mental and emotional pressure” high school athletes have to endure if they want to achieve greatness.

“Football is a really cool backdrop for the show,” Ezra explained. “The sheer amount of money and pressure and attention that’s put on these kids, these high-level athletes at 16, 17, 18, is unfathomable. And it was something that blew my mind. The first time I went to a college football stadium, I was like, ‘You mean to tell me 80,000 people came up to watch 19-year-olds play football,’ and everyone was like, ‘Yeah.’ It blew my mind. There are some towns where it’s like the whole town shuts down to go and watch a high school game. And so I was always curious about what that must do to these kids mentally.”

All American airs on Mondays at 8 pm E.T on The CW.