Speaking to Boss Hunting about what drew him to his new Apple TV+ pickleball comedy, The Dink, Jake Johnson doesn’t beat around the bush.
“I liked that it was a big IP,” he grins with his usual candour. Perhaps it’s the time difference (it’s the middle of the night in Sydney when I jump on the call), but I wasn’t expecting such a direct response – though it’s not entirely surprising.
Johnson – a seasoned actor, writer, and The Dink producer – knows that marketable IP is crucial in a risk-averse studio system in which Hollywood relies heavily on a steady stream of BookTok adaptations and remakes to pre-qualify audiences. So starring in a movie about pickleball – the fastest-growing sport with over 24 million active players in the US alone – was smart business, if nothing else.
“I didn’t care about pickleball personally”, says Johnson, who trained with professionals to play both tennis and pickleball for the role. “But I liked that it could draw a lot of people in. I felt like it wasn’t gonna be a tiny movie.”
And while The Dink certainly capitalises on the sport’s popularity, it’s also about more than just pickleball. It offers a genuine emotional arc that sets it apart from many of its sports-comedy predecessors. This is another key factor that attracted Johnson to the project.
“If a movie doesn’t have a heart or soul to it, I personally don’t want to be in it,” he says.
What to expect from The Dink
The Dink follows Dusty, an obnoxious former tennis prodigy who spends his time rehashing his glory days with his awkward sidekick (Australia’s own Aaron Chen) and desperately trying to earn the approval of his father, played by Ed Harris, who is brilliantly cast against type.
In an attempt to recover from an injury in time to save his father’s beloved tennis club from a pickleball epidemic, he’s forced to turn to the very sport he hates… pickleball. This leads him to Candace (Mary Steenburgen), a woman 30 years his senior, who helps him to grow up, stand up to his father, and take on his tennis nemesis, Andy Roddick, in a high-stakes pickleball showdown.
Co-produced by Ben Stiller’s production company Red Hour, The Dink is an intentionally ridiculous, easy-watching movie that shares a lot of the same core DNA as many mid-noughties Frat Pack comedies.
Played historically by seniors, pickleball is an inherently goofy sport. And, when you place it in a world where it’s taken profoundly seriously and pitted against an upper-crust sport like tennis, it leaves plenty of room for physical comedy as well as the obligatory final showdown between rivals.
Where The Dink differs, however, is that it blends those underdog arcs and cinematic sequences with a relatable quasi-rom-com narrative about failure, disappointment, and finding hope and community.
Johnson certainly helps by bringing the lovable idiot quality he plays so well. But he credits the movie’s balance between silly, fun comedy and a story with emotional depth to director Josh Greenbaum.
“That’s his speciality… I was just a tool in his thing,” he says with his trademark affable shrug.
Greenbaum’s credits include Will & Harper, an incredibly touching Peabody Award-winning documentary with Will Ferrell, and the absurd cult comedy Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar. Finding nuance and emotion while also capturing the chaos of pickleball in a cinematic, high-energy comedy fits squarely in his wheelhouse.
The rise of a new sports dramedy genre
While classics like Happy Gilmore and Dodgeball paved the way for wacky underdog sports comedies, The Dink blends many of the comedy tropes from that golden era with genre-bending nuance for a modern audience.
Based on writer Sean Clements’ experience playing pickleball with retirees, The Dink feels rooted in character growth and relatable human problems.
Interestingly, Will Ferrell’s brand-new Netflix golf comedy, The Hawk, follows a similar trend, perhaps highlighting a cultural shift towards sports dramedies rather than straight-up comedy. While chaos and slapstick routines still get the laughs, they are now underpinned by more emotional depth and a touch of darkness.
For Johnson – a New Girl alum at a point in his career where he can choose the projects he actually wants to work on – this depth, reached through his character’s emotional journey, was a major selling point.
“I found it a really refreshing take on a relationship between an older woman and a younger man,” he told BH. “The rejection wasn’t age-based, but sexual taste-based. And I thought that was such a funny turn.”
“That made me really feel like I knew where Dusty was going from the beginning. He could be really pompous and a real prick because he was gonna get his. Candace not being interested was the last thing he expected to hear… and that redemption arc felt really fun to play.”
A who’s who of Hollywood heavyweights and rising Aussie star Aaron Chen
Another element that gives The Dink a fun edge is its inspired casting, from Oscar-winners like Mary Steenburgen and dramatic titans like Ed Harris, to stand-ups and comedic actors like Patton Oswalt, Chris Parnell, and Fortune Feimster (plus surprisingly brilliant performances by John McEnroe and Andy Roddick). It’s got the obligatory comedy-heavy supporting cast along with unexpected performances by dramatic actors and sporting legends.
For Johnson, filling every scene with heavy-hitters was by design – the luxury of being a producer.
“Going from an early morning with Aaron Chen to the second half of the day with Ed Harris, it felt like… Man, as an actor, how could it get more fun than this!”
“I was like a point guard in basketball, or Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz,” he said. “I just kept going to different set pieces with really funny people.”
Josh Greenbaum’s documentary shooting style also allowed plenty of room for improv among the veteran cast. And getting to play around with different types of performers is a dream for an actor from a theatre background.
“I love Aaron Chen because he’s in his own time zone comedically. He does his own thing. I’ve done bits with so many funny people, from improv theatres to sets to bars, and when somebody’s doing something truly unique and different, it feels so exciting.”
Chen is both a veteran stand-up and a Logie Award-winning actor gaining plenty of traction on screen. In The Dink, he plays PJ, Dusty’s only friend and socially awkward assistant who hangs off his every word.
And, while some actors might prefer to have things planned, Johnson loves a wild ride, which makes Chen – a unique and off-beat Australian comedian – his ideal scene partner.
“I’ll give him something, and I’ll think he’s gonna go one of three ways – and he NEVER does. I truly never know how he’s going to respond. And that’s very exciting as a performer.”
“Stand-ups are trained in being on stage and finding the laugh, so they often don’t want to lose touch with reality and believe the reality of the scene they’re in. But my favourite thing is when we all dissociate enough that the lines of reality get blurred between action and cut, and we all get a little confused. That’s where it’s most fun.”
Despite stepping into one of his first major feature films, Johnson insists there were no visible nerves or mentor vibes in the air.
“I don’t think Aaron [Chen] was intimidated,” he chuckles. “I’d been a fan of his for a long time, so I was a big reason why he played PJ. I was the guy who was courting him and showing everybody his stuff. If anything, I was the fan boy around Aaron.”
There were, however, a few pinch-me moments for Johnson himself.
“I mean, Ben Stiller, obviously. And Mary Steenburgen… I was like, 'WOW.' And Ed Harris a little bit too, but I didn't want to interrupt him.”
So, while decades of Hollywood success may have given Jake Johnson the business savvy to jump on “big IP” when he sees it, it hasn’t made him jaded enough to lose that inner fan boy, even if he is number one on the call sheet.
On the surface, The Dink might look like a cash-in on a global sporting trend, but by combining a wildly disparate group of funny people with a script and direction that blends humour with heart, it leaves you with an entertaining modern-day sports comedy you can relax and maybe even relate to.
The Dink premieres on Apple TV globally on 24 July 2026.