From Broadway to Balls (of Fury)

I doubt anyone is seriously excited about the upcoming ping-pong comedy Balls of Fury, but star Dan Fogler has made a major leap in the past year from Broadway to the big screen, and he has some interesting things to say in this Rotten Tomatoes Q&A.

Fogler created the role of William Morris Barfee with the improv group The Farm in 2002, for the show that began as "C-R-E-P-U-S-C-U-L-E" off-off Broadway and morphed into Broadway's smash hit "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee." Fogler went on to win a Lortel, Outer Critics, Broadway World, Drama Desk and the 2005 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for the show. He also wrote and directed "Elephant In The Room!," which was accepted in this year's NY Fringe Festival.

Fogler says that his Tony-winning experience helped him prepare for the Balls of Fury press barrage at Comic-Con, but he couldn't quite define the difference between theater nerds and "regular nerds."

Now it seems that Fogler is focusing on his screen career before he returns to the stage, with roles in the upcoming Good Luck Chuck, Fanboys, and Horton Hears A Who. He is even slated to play Alfred Hitchcock in Chase Palmer's Number 13, co-starring Ewan McGregor and Ben Kingsley.

This week, Fogler stars as competitive ping-ponger Robert Daytona, the troubled hero who stumbles into an Enter The Dragon-style table tennis tournament in Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon's Balls of Fury. (Despite Fogler's rising star status, Christopher Walken might still be the biggest draw for most moviegoers)

- Daniel Lehman