Jake Johnson, star of the hit sitcom New Girl, is returning to the screen in a new comedy about pickleball titled The Dink. Despite playing a former tennis pro turned pickleball player, Johnson admits he had no experience with the sport before taking the role. 'No experience of it whatsoever,' he said cheerfully during a video call from Los Angeles.
The Dink: An Old-School Comedy Escape
The Dink, written by Sean Clements, follows Dusty Boyd (Johnson), a bitter former tennis pro who blames Andy Roddick for his career-ending injury. He joins a tough group of older women pickleball players led by Mary Steenburgen's Candace, who teaches him about sport and life. Johnson trained for months in pickleball and tennis to make the action believable, comparing it to WWE wrestling: 'It was like fake wrestling. The outcome is there, but you still have to wrestle.'
Johnson sought a light, fun film with no heavy messaging, especially given the divisive political climate before the 2024 US presidential election. 'I knew, however that goes, it's going to get crazy for our country … I thought, if I'm going to make something, I don't want to throw more wood on to that fire,' he said. He wanted to offer audiences a break from intense, stressful culture, adding, 'You go: man, I know everybody is loving this … but I can't watch it. I'm already fucking stressed. Give me a break!'
Intergenerational Friendship and Challengers Comparisons
A key element of The Dink is the friendship between Dusty and Candace, which Johnson championed. 'I don't agree with this idea that men and women can't be friends … That feels so crazy old school and puritan to me,' he said. He praised Steenburgen, calling her 'my friend' and noting his admiration for her work in Parenthood and Step Brothers. When asked about the steamy tennis film Challengers, Johnson hadn't seen it but relayed co-star Aaron Chen's quip: 'Chen refers to our movie as the sexier Challengers.'
From Troubled Teen to Hollywood Star
Johnson began acting in high school in Chicago after dropping out at 15. A school play turned his life around: 'I got credit for the first time from stuffy adults who did not like me.' He admitted he was a troublemaker: 'If there was a party … all the parents assumed I brought the matches. And a lot of the time, I had brought the matches.' Acting gave him purpose, and he moved to Los Angeles, taking any job he could—from 'Man on Cell Phone' on Curb Your Enthusiasm to 'Jazz Man' in Get Him to the Greek. 'I call it grinding,' he said. 'I was just trying to get to the table.'
New Girl: Scary, Pot-Free, and Prince
At 33, Johnson landed the role of Nick on New Girl, a smash-hit sitcom that ran for seven seasons. He admitted the job was terrifying because his co-stars were so prepared: 'I had to stop smoking pot, because I was like, oh, these fools know their lines!' The show's success brought a memorable cameo from Prince, who was a fan and watched on his tour bus. Prince appeared in a 2014 post-Super Bowl episode watched by 26.3 million people, calling Johnson by his character name, Nick. 'He was so great,' Johnson recalled. They talked for hours about sport and TV; Prince's favorite shows were Cheers, Roseanne, and New Girl.
Fame, Family, and Staying Grounded
When New Girl blew up, Johnson struggled with fame. 'I think it exploded my brain for about six months. I spiralled out,' he said, referencing Bill Murray's quote about having a year to be an asshole. Having kids with his wife, artist Erin Payne, in 2014 (twin daughters) kept him humble. 'Kids humble you, fast. They are not fans of the old Jakester and his work,' he laughed. Even his role as Spider-Man in the animated Spider-Verse films didn't impress them: 'They thought Hailee Steinfeld's Spider-Gwen was cool. They thought my character was the most embarrassing, because he just ate pizza and was the old chubby one.'
Johnson continues to work steadily, with projects including the cancelled Minx ('that one makes me sad'), Apple's Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed, and a reunion with director Joe Swanberg for The Sun Never Sets, starring Dakota Fanning, set for release later this year. The Dink premieres on Apple TV on 24 July.
