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Game Time: Tackling the Past aired earlier this September on NBC. The movie stars Ryan McPartlin and Beau Bridges. Ryan plays Jake Walker, a pro football star who returns home when he hears that his father, played by Beau Bridges, has suffered a heart attack.

PCM got to participate in a conference call with these two well-known stars about the ins and outs of their new family-oriented movie!

Question: If I could ask you first Beau, since Game Time is a family oriented movie, can you talk about family night or family movie night? What was it like in the Bridges household growing up?

Beau Bridges: Yes. Well you know, I mean television is a time for the family to gather. I mean I’m of a generation where we just had radio, and so I remember how exciting it was when I went to see the Lone Ranger for the first time when I was a little kid.

And now of course technology is so sophisticated that it’s such a huge part of our lives. And so much so that I think sometimes young people especially tend to get isolated with their - you know, the little thing they can hold in their hand to watch films and everything else you know, and they kind of go away.

But in our family, we like to gather around the television and watch sporting events and films and shows, and it’s a great time for people to come together.

Question: I learned this movie is somewhat in line with your college years. Will we see your shirt off in this movie?

Ryan McPartlin: This movie you don’t see my shirt off. We definitely - we’re making it a family night, so there was - there’s no bare chest going on in this, which I appreciated because I didn’t to stay on the treadmill as often as I normally do.

Question: Beau, we loved you on Brothers and Sisters last season, and we were wondering if you could talk a little bit about what the Emmy nomination means to you?

Beau Bridges: Well I loved doing that show as well, and I feel that my nomination you know, certainly was a good thing in my life, but I also feel that I’m kind of representing that whole show at this year’s Emmy’s. I mean they did such great work, and of course my dear friend Sally Field was so amazing and get - to get to play with her was just fantastic.

And so, I really - you know, that’s a shared experience with that whole cast and crew.

Question: This question is actually for both of you. What attracted each one of you to the parts in Game Time?

Beau Bridges: Okay. You know, I have a large family myself. I mean, I have five children so stories that have family as a theme are - you know, usually really get my attention, and this one certainly does. It’s - right at the core of the story is this family and you know, how they come together and how they get through difficult times.

I also love sports. I love athletics. Ryan and I actually had that in common. We both played athletics on teams in our high school and college years. And so to get to play a coach was great.

Because I - you know, when I was younger and looking at - ahead in my future, what I wanted to do with my life - you know, my dad was an actor so I thought about you know, that would be - he seems to enjoy that. And, I understand that it’s a difficult profession to get a hook in there on, but you know, I thought I’d give that a try.

But also, I thought you know another path that I would enjoy taking would be as a coach working with young people. I’ve coached all my own kids’ athletic teams, and was lucky enough to sit on the bench with John Wooden as my coach playing freshman basketball at UCLA. It didn’t go any further than that, but that was a great experience. I mean one of the great college coaches of all time. And, I remained friendly with him and in contact with him for the rest of his time on the planet. And that was you know, just a real blessing.

And so, there was a lot of reoccurring themes in my own life that resonated in this story, and so I jumped at it. I thought it was just a great story. And, I don’t think there’s enough entertainment for families these days, and for young people on television that are appropriate and that are strong and profound stories that people need to hear.

Ryan McPartlin: Yes. As far as I was concerned, I played tight end and went to the University of Illinois as a tight end. I found out real quickly that the jump from high school to college is tough, and from college to the Pros is next to impossible, but it was always my dream to play professional football. And when that didn’t work out, and I decided to become an actor instead, I actually tried to get away from being branded as an athlete and just a football player because I wanted to play - be a multi-dimensional actor.

But now that I’ve been doing this for about 11 or 12 years, it was interesting when this script came about because now it was a role regarding the end of an NFL career. An athlete that’s you know, making the journey back home to reconnect with his family. And the father/son theme that was in the story as well just - it all kind of came together for me at a perfect time in my life. Because, I got to go back and kind of have that farewell to football; that closure that I never really had, and I really felt that in my performance.

And, there’s a lot of just great father/son and mother/son moments in the movie that I just thought were good - it was good entertainment for the family, and I really wanted to be a part of it. And as soon as I saw the cast list, actually I jumped on a plane and I got an email right before I took off and saw that Beau had signed on to the movie. I go, “Okay. Now I know this is going to be something special.” And then Catherine Hicks jumped on board and Josh Braaten, and Katie Carr. It just turned into this really special time that we all had together.

Question: Ryan, can you draw some similarities between yourself and Jake Walker?

Ryan McPartlin: You know, I think there was at an earlier time in my life. I think that when athletes become professional athletes and go from high school to college to the pros, there’s a certain type of arrested development. And that - I just don’t think that maturing process comes until you're done with athletics and done being in the bubble and being treated like a star.

So, I think that time came in my life when football came to an end for me. And I graduated college. I moved to Los Angeles and I actually waited tables for a year, so I was humbled really quickly. And I called my dad and we reconnected in a whole new way because I had such a respect once I started paying taxes and realizing how much money you actually have to make to support a family. You know, I had a whole new appreciation for my father.

And so, I think there are a lot of similarities. I just think that my growth - the process came at an earlier age than Jake Walker’s has come.

Question: And looking back, do you think - how do you think you’d have done as a basketball player. If you'd have been more successful as a basketball player and not gone into movies?

Beau Bridges: No. No. I mean, I - and I found out very - you know, the hard way very quickly going to you know, such a powerhouse basketball college what a little fish I was. And, I realized how lucky I was to even make the freshman team and to be able to be around those guys.

But what I came away with, especially being tutored by a man like John Wooden was I learned lesions that were life lessons. I mean I don’t know if you're familiar with John Wooden’s pyramid of success? It was something that he actually developed as an English teacher before he became a coach, and it’s basically all the qualities you need to find success. And they’re blocks of the pyramid that are things that you need to take on to reach that pinnacle.

And the two cornerstones are industriousness, which is hard work, and enthusiasm, which is joy. Coach always said that you could come to the task with hard work, but it’s when it’s brought in combination with joy, those two things -- hard work and joy -- that’s when special things happen.

And then the very pinnacle of the pyramid is divided in half into faith and patience, meaning when the big game is at hand that you have to be patient and you have to have faith. Faith in whatever you believe in and faith in yourself.

And so you know, I did get a lot out of my experience playing at UCLA, but as far as becoming a professional, I don’t think so.

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