Published: April 22, 2017
Former Heisman Trophy winner, NFL star
Eddie George stars in ‘Chicago’
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
ndettmann@conleynet.com
262-306-5043
Eddie George heard millions of fans roar in
excitement throughout a 10-year NFL career when he broke loose for a big gain
or carried the ball into the end zone.
Ten years ago, he connected with another
audience, but much smaller than the one with an upward of 70,000 fans packed
tightly into football stadium seats.
“I started getting involved in the community
theater,” said George, 43, who won the 1995 Heisman Trophy in his senior year
at Ohio State University.
“The stakes are so high in live theater,” he added.
“The reaction, the energy is so intimate and right in the moment.
“To hear your effect on the audience about what
you’re trying to do in the play, it’s gratifying to know you’re telling a
story. That’s what drew me to the stage and playing various roles.”
Since he retired from the NFL in 2006, George
has performed in more than 100 shows and has appeared in several television
shows and movies.
His latest venture brings him to the Marcus
Center on Tuesday through April 30 in Milwaukee, playing the role of Billy
Flynn in the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, “Chicago,” as part of his
touring Broadway debut.
“Chicago” is set in the 1920s and tells the
story of Roxie Hart, a housewife and nightclub dancer who murders her onthe-
side lover after he threatens to leave her. Trying to avoid a conviction, Hart
hires the city’s slickest criminal attorney — Flynn — to transform her crime
into a barrage of sensational headlines.
“I love playing the role of Billy Flynn,”
George said. “It’s an iconic play, an iconic role, a great cast. To come to
Milwaukee and do it is awesome.”
In 1996, the following spring after George won
the Heisman Trophy, the Houston Oilers — now Tennessee Titans in Nashville —
drafted him in the first round of the NFL Draft with the No. 14 overall pick.
He was the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in
1996. For his career, he was a four-time Pro Bowl selection (1997-2000),
second-team All-Pro in 1999 and firstteam in 2000.
Following the 1999 regular season, George
played in Super Bowl XXXIV, where the Titans lost to the St. Louis Rams, 23-16.
The game is best remembered for Titans receiver Kevin Dyson being tackled at
the 1-yard line on the last play of the game by the Rams’ Mike Jones. The play
is known in NFL history as “One Yard Short” and “The Tackle.”
“I think about it occasionally ... when people
ask me about it,” George said with a chuckle. “It was
such a great experience to play in the Super
Bowl. To finish at the 1-yard line ... it was kind of bittersweet. People still
remember that game, but we didn’t end up on the winning side of it. That’s what
hurts the most.
“Overall, to get to the Super Bowl is a
once-in-a-lifetime thing and to get the opportunity to play at a high level in
there, almost have a chance to win was even better.”
He played with the Oilers/Titans through the
2003 season. He signed a oneyear contract with the Dallas Cowboys in 2004.
He officially retired in 2006, finishing with
10,441 rushing yards — 27th-most in NFL history.
“I fulfilled a childhood dream playing not only
college football, but professionally and at a high level,” George said. “That
was an amazing experience for me. It goes by fast, a lot faster than you
think.”
So what was next?
During his playing career, he was focused on
playing well for his teammates and the fans, hoping to one day win a
championship. But, deep in the back of his mind, he dabbled with ideas of what
to do post-football.
“I wanted to find something I love to do,”
George said. “I had a buddy that got me some acting roles after my playing
days.”
He never participated in high school or college
theater. His lone acting experience during his playing days was when he
appeared in a 1996 episode of “Coach,” starring Craig T. Nelson.
When football was done, he began working with
an acting coach.
“I really started to immerse myself into
acting, tell a story on stage,” George said.
Playing on a football field and being on a
stage, he thought they were similar, which helped him get started.
“It was the energy of the audience, camaraderie
with the other actors, it was very reminiscent of (a football team) with a
common goal,” George said.
After his playing career, George, a native of
Philadelphia, decided to stay in the Nashville area and that’s where he got
latched onto community theater.
His first role was an ensemble in a production
of “Gods Trombones” with Belcourt Theatre in Nashville in 2006. He said he was
more nervous for that than he was playing in a Super Bowl or any NFL game.
“It was foreign to me,” George said of acting.
“Football was a different kind of nerves.
“(Being on stage) was something new and
different. There’s no doubt about it.”
When he was done, he was relieved it was over
and he thought it went OK. However, he also remembered
feeling, “Wow. That felt good. I feel
comfortable doing this. I didn’t have stage fright. I didn’t care what anybody
thought.”
In 2007, he was cast in the movie, “The Game
Plan,” starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. He’s also been cast in “Best Man
Holiday” and “Into the Sun,” starring Steven Seagal.
In 2012, he played Julius Caesar during the
Nashville Shakespeare Festival. The next year he was Othello in the same
festival. In 2015, he was in “The Whipping Man” by the Nashville Repertory
Theater.
In January 2016, George made his Broadway debut
with “Chicago.”
“I wasn’t looking for anything other than the
pure joy of doing something I love to do,” George said. “It’s the same
gratification I got out of football. It’s something I hope I can do for the
rest of my life.”
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