Teamwork is the name of the game for ‘Everybody Wants Some!!’ stars

Writer-director Richard Linklater wanted to create a band of brothers for his latest comedy, “Everybody Wants Some!!,” which captures the college experience from the perspective of baseball teammates the weekend before school starts in 1980.

So he required the actors to live together for 2 1/2 weeks before rehearsals started. They established relationships while staying in a cabin on his Texas ranch, which carried over to present-day.

“That’s the best thing we could have done. We came together and created a camaraderie that we had from Day One on the set. We were a brotherhood,” Blake Jenner said.

“I really liked everyone, so it was hard for me to be a jerk to them, as my character. I’m really lovable,” Tyler Hoechlin said, laughing.

The conviviality developed between Jenner, who plays freshman pitching prospect Jake; Hoechlin, the ultra-competitive infielder McReynolds; and Ryan Guzman, easygoing upperclassman Roper, was apparent from the moment our interview started.

The trio of charming young actors sat down with me at the Four Seasons Hotel in St. Louis on Monday, quick to quip and rib each other, but displaying obvious mutual respect, too.

Their chemistry is apparent throughout the raucous comedy, and they remain very good friends. Tyler and Ryan, both 28, are roommates in Los Angeles. Blake, 23, has been married to his “Glee” co-star Melissa Benoist (“Supergirl”) for a year.

But that wasn’t the only demand before filming. During the movie’s rehearsal period, they played baseball, too.

Linklater had played college ball and drew from that experience for this movie, another rite-of-passage tale, a “spiritual sequel” to his 1993 cult classic “Dazed and Confused.”

They not only came together as a team, but also flexed their athletic muscles. Everyone in the cast had played sports, and they all had to submit videos of them playing.

Hoechlin played second base at Arizona State University and at University of California-Irvine, and showed his prowess in a clip from the UC-Irvine vs. Louisiana State University super-regional in 2008.

Cast as Tom Hanks’ son in “The Road to Perdition” in 2002, Hoechlin started early in the business, but put acting on hold to play college ball. When he was a sophomore, he turned down the role of Emmett Cullen in the “Twilight” series.

“I have no regrets. I got this movie because of my baseball skills, so I feel like it has come full circle,” he said.

Guzman also played college baseball, and Jenner, while he went straight into acting instead of college, had played football in high school.

It was important for Linklater to cast actors who looked like authentic jocks. Being able to work with Linklater, Oscar-nominated director (“Boyhood”) and screenwriter (“Before Midnight”), was a special experience for each of them.

“He trusted us so much,” Guzman said. “He sent us an email that was very special. He pretty much wanted us to be comfortable creating our characters, and there was no wrong way. He wanted the experience to bring out who we are and how we are to each other.”

“I was really thrilled with the idea of it, and then getting to work with Rick! He is a genuinely fantastic guy. He is a collaborator in the truest sense of the word – and inspiring and encouraging,” Hoechlin said.

The movie screenings have been positive, particularly with their parents, who remembered that time well.

“When my dad saw it at South By Southwest, I watched him, and he had a grin on his face the whole time,” Jenner said. “He had played college basketball in 1980. And my dad is a very serious, stoic guy.”

“My mom told me she was a college freshman in 1980. I hadn’t known that,” Hoechlin said.

The trio attended a special screening Sunday night at Washington University. A question-and-answer session followed.

“That was probably my favorite one of the whole press tour,” Jenner said.

The only drawback to immersing themselves in the 1980 period was having to wear the fashions — and some of the guys wore wigs or hairpieces to replicate the shaggy hairstyles of the day.

“Wearing the short shorts was my least favorite part,” Jenner admitted. “My legs don’t tan up there anyway, and they looked like two bottles of milk.”

Hoechlin’s dark mustache and look as McReynolds has been compared to Burt Reynolds, Tom Selleck, and even Billy Crudup in “Almost Famous.” When I told him he looks exactly like Keith Hernandez did while playing for the St. Louis Cardinals, he replied: “No, I hadn’t heard that one yet. That’s a new one.”

All three have been on successful TV shows, and now have several movies in the works.

Guzman, Jake on “Pretty Little Liars” for two seasons, also danced in two of the “Step Up” movies — “Revolution” and “All In.” He recently played Carlos Gutierrez in the limited series “Heroes Reborn” and was in the movies “Jem and the Holograms” and “The Boy Next Door.”

Jenner won the reality competition “The Glee Project,” besting 11 other candidates in the second – and last – season in the search for a new star to join the show. From 2012 to the 2015 finale, he played Ryder, a football player who was also a talented performer. He will be in two upcoming films, “The Edge of Seventeen” and “Billy Boy,” which he wrote.

Hoechlin described working with Hanks and Paul Newman on “The Road to Perdition” when he was 15 as “an unforgettable experience.”

“I always say I would love to go back, knowing what I know now. It was the greatest experience seeing how they carried themselves on the set, and what genuinely good people they were. It showed me you don’t have to lose your head in this business. They were so grounded.”

Hoechlin, who starred in MTV’s “Teen Wolf” and was on “Seventh Heaven” for four seasons, will be in the two “Fifty Shades of Grey” sequels.

They are happy to promote this movie on a nationwide press tour.

“We’re all very proud of this movie, and Linklater’s influence,” Hoechlin said.

With understanding the discipline of acting and athletics combined, they have a shared perspective on what it takes to be in show business.

“It’s all building blocks,” Guzman said. “Five years from now, we’ll be trying new things, failing at things, and growing from those experiences. It’s such a crapshoot, so celebrating this movie is great, because we put our souls into it.”

This story was originally published April 8, 2016 at 11:33 AM with the headline "Teamwork is the name of the game for ‘Everybody Wants Some!!’ stars."