Posted in: Fox, Movies, Paramount Pictures, TV | Tagged: 24, Major League

Dennis Haysbert Reflects on 24/Palmer Legacy, Major League & More

Dennis Haysbert (Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord) discussed his legacy with 24 and Major League, his role as the Allstate spokesman, and more.

Dennis Haysbert has been one of the most versatile character actors of our generation. With over 150 projects in his filmography, the actor has kept busy since his debut in 1978 on the Mary Tyler Moore spinoff, Lou Grant. From there, he's embraced prime-time television with an eclectic mix of sitcoms, action, drama, and science fiction. He occasionally appeared in films until his breakout role in Major League (1989) as fan-favorite slugger Pedro Cerrano, which expanded into a franchise that included two sequels. Haysbert's passion for the game also landed him the Tom Selleck-cult classic Mr. Baseball (1992). The actor's persistence paid off when he landed another signature role as President David Palmer on the Fox action espionage thriller series 24 for six seasons opposite star Kiefer Sutherland's Jack Bauer. While promoting his role in the Disney+ animated series Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord, Haysbert spoke to Bleeding Cool about what of his past work fans approach him that surprises him, his near-two decade run as a spokesman for Allstate, how 24 has remained relevant thanks to streaming, how he's continued his love for baseball since the David S. Ward sports franchise.

24 Star Dennis Haysbert Reflects on Series Legacy, How Streaming Created New Fans, Allstate, Major League & More

BC: Given all the work you've done, are there things that still surprise you about what fans approach you for?

Haysbert: Nothing really surprising. I'm always delighted that they remember and enjoy the characters I played in the past. Specifically, David Palmer from 24, Pedro Cerrano from Major League. I still have people coming up and quoting lines on that, and every baseball season, they bring it up just before the start of the season with a whole new crop of kids and adult kids [laughs]. I'm still enjoying it. I've been pretty well-perceived for a very long time for a variety of roles.

Do you have any kids who come up, "Hey, it's the Allstate guy!"

Always, and that doesn't surprise me, because I did that for 19 years, and it was on 24-7-365, so if someone didn't mention that, I would be surprised.

Circling back to 24, it's been almost two decades with your run on the show, and I was wondering what sticks out most about what that show has done for pop culture and, by extension, your career.

Well, pop culture, I don't know anyone who didn't love 24, and I was in a grocery store the other day, and I'm here in Vancouver right now, shooting something, and went into a Whole Foods. There was a youngish clerk behind the desk, he says, "I know you," and I'm thinking, "Okay, what does he know? Because there are so many things." "You are the president in 24. I said, "Okay, that's surprising." He couldn't have been more than 23 or 24, himself. That's what I love about the fact that you got Netflix, Prime Video, and all these streaming services. People get a chance to see shows they didn't grow up with, and they're constantly being rediscovered. I'm grateful for that, that's the blast.

Have you developed any lifelong friendships from the projects you've worked on? Is there a chat or text chain with Kiefer and Mary Lynn [Rajskub], or anything like that?

No chat chains. Everybody has gone off, doing their own thing, and is very busy, which I'm very happy about. Whenever I see them, it's always a warm welcome, an embrace, a good, healthy smile, and conversation. I haven't seen Kiefer in years, but I'm sure if I saw him, it would be everything I would expect it to be.

Final question. I can't imagine how much you could ask for this, but I guess it's just about the spontaneity. How well does Dennis Haysbert hit the curveball?

[Laughs] I'll tell you a little secret. It was everything I could do not to hit it [laughs], especially when you know it's coming, but I had no problems with the curve. I played baseball, Little League, recreational league, kind of Babe Ruth-type baseball. Even after I finished making the movie, I started playing in between gigs, and I enjoyed it so much. Baseball is one of my favorite sports next to football.

I mean, with all this talk about revivals and reboots, I would love to see a new Major League film or TV series where Pedro is the skipper and learns all these things about how the game has changed. I think it would be great if Pedro became the new Lou Brown. What do you think?

I would love that. I would LOVE it.

New episodes of Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord, which also features the voices of Sam Witwer, Gideon Adlon, Wagner, Moura, Richard Ayoade, Chris Diamantopoulos, Charlie Bushnell, Vanessa Marshall, David W. Collins, A. J. LoCascio, and Steve Blum, premiere Mondays on Disney+.

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