Mary Steenburgen Was Already Hooked On Pickleball Before ‘The Dink’ Came Along

Meghan OverdeepThu, July 23, 2026 at 8:50 PM UTC

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Credit: Apple TV

Mary Steenbergen said “yes” to The Dinkwithout reading the script.

In fact, the Oscar winner says she was actually about to sign a contract for another movie when the star-studded Apple TV comedy about pickleball came knocking.

Jake Johnson and Ben Stiller were already attached to the Josh Greenbaum film when Steenbergen was approached about a role—three names she says were big selling points. From there, she says that all she had to hear was that it was a comedy about pickleball and she immediately said no to the other movie and yes to The Dink.

“And no regrets,” Steenbergen says with a smile. “It was just more fun than I could have dreamt. It was just a joyful experience from start to finish.”

The Dinkfollows Dusty Boyd (Johnson), a washed-up former tennis prodigy who spends his days begrudgingly coaching children at his father Chuck’s (Ed Harris) country club. Dusty shares Chuck’s snooty disdain for pickleball until the worst happens: he aggravates an old injury. Forced to take up the trendy sport as rehab, he finds himself actually enjoying it, thanks in part to his charming new partner, Candace (Steenbergen). When Dusty is pulled into a desperate battle for the future of the tennis club, he is forced to face the ghosts of his past, including his childhood nemesis, Andy Roddick (Andy Roddick).

For Steenbergen, the timing of the movie was serendipitous. The Hollywood legend had actually begun playing pickleball just a few months prior to hearing about the project. She got into it after being given a pickleball paddle by her son, Charlie McDowell.

“He got me a [paddle] and told me that I needed to take up the sport,” Steenbergen, 73, tells Southern Living. “He’s a really good player, and he was just very encouraging, telling me that I could do it. And so I took some lessons and fell madly in love with it.”

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Credit: Apple TV

Steenbergen, who currently plays pickleball about five days a week, says she was still a “beginner” player during filming.

“I’m a much better player than I was then, but that’s OK,” she says with a laugh. “And you know, Candace isn’t necessarily supposed to be some ace pickleball player. She’s like a club player, and more importantly, she’s someone who was a little lost and lonely, and this sport gave her something.”

Steenbergen and Candace have that in common. The sport came into Steenbergen’s life after the sudden loss of the best friends she and husband Ted Danson shared for more than 30 years. She says she can relate to Candace, a recent divorcee struggling to find herself and a new community while grieving the loss of her marriage, who is also drawn to pickleball for social reasons.

Credit: Apple TV

“I actually had experienced the same thing, wondering, ‘well, who are my friends?’ But then I did the movie Book Club with Candice Bergen and Diane Keaton and Jane Fonda, and we became really, really close and I learned that it’s not too late for me to make really good friends,” Steenbergen continues. “And then more recently, pickleball has brought these people into my life that I never would have known. I never would have connected with them. And I’ve fallen in love with them a little bit too.”

Serious undertones aside, The Dink is, above all else, a comedy. It’s stuffed with over-the-top, laugh-out-loud moments, surprise celebrity cameos, and a premise that is borderline ridiculous. But it is also full of humanity and characters even non-pickleball players will relate to.

“I think it’s about finding your place... finding your people and finding a place,” Steenbergen says.

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on Southern Living

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”