"Pitch" Perfect

With a charming smile that could melt even the coldest of winters, Mo McRae is a suave professional who looks dashing in a debonair Rich Freshman suit. McRae’s firm jaw and intense gaze let him shine as the star of our city-themed photoshoot, held at Apex Studios in Los Angeles. Yet while McRae certainly takes a pretty picture, the man’s true talents lie in acting.

Known for reoccurring roles on shows such as Murder in the First and Sons of Anarchy, McRae originated from South Los Angeles and quickly became interested in acting as a profession. Currently, he stars as Blip on Fox’s freshman series Pitch, which follows Kylie Bunbury as Ginny Baker, a rookie pitcher and the first female to play in Major League Baseball. McRae’s Blip is a longtime friend of the controversial Ginny Baker and a centerfielder for the San Diego Padres, the central team featured in Pitch. The series is partially filmed at Petco Park and in San Diego, and it has become a local fan favorite for its ambitious characters and big heart. 

From friendship to love, with changing times and bitter enemies, Fox’s Pitch has it all. With Pitch’s season 1 finale scheduled to air on December 8th, co-star Mo McRae spoke with FINE Magazine about his love for acting, the audition process for Pitch and his new production company Scalable Content.

 Why did you gravitate towards acting as a profession? Did you always want to be an actor? 

I was introduced to acting in high school in my 4th period drama class. Through the exercises and practices, the teacher just felt like he should say I had some talent and some skill. So he encouraged and pushed me to do a play, which I did, begrudgingly. However, the first moment I walked on stage the energy between me and the audience was amazing. Being in the moment, feeling free—yet it was also scary. But I was as crazy then as I am now, and I fully enjoyed the feeling. From then on, I pursued acting with everything I had.

 You’ve had numerous recurring and guest roles. Is there any previous role that stands out for you? 

Each of [my guest roles] really stand out to me, especially Sons of Anarchy, as it was a show that resonated with millions of people all over the world, so getting to be a part of something like that will always stand out in my mind.

 Currently, you’re playing San Diego Padres player, Blip on Fox’s Pitch. What was the audition process like for Pitch? How did you prepare to play a centerfielder?

For the audition process, I went in and read for the director of the pilot and Executive Producers Paris Barclay, Rick Singer, Kevin Falls, Tony Bill, Helen Bartlett and a few other writers and producers on the show… I was in the process of filming [a project for Apple Inc], but when I got the script [for Pitch] they wanted me to come in and I wasn’t able to make it. I remembered being so concerned that I was going to miss out on the opportunity because the moment I read everything, I loved it. 

So I went and did the audition for them. I felt it went great, and they were like "Okay, can you do the other scene?" I had no idea they had another scene for the audition, but apparently all of the other actors auditioning had received another piece of the audition material. So they gave it to me right then and asked if I wanted to come back another day. I told them I just needed a couple of minutes. There were three additional pages of material with a monologue. Paris Barclay, who I had worked with before on Sons of Anarchy, said, "He’ll be fine," but everybody else just sat staring. 

I went out of the room and prepared while they saw [another] actor before I came back in. I walked in and set the script down, and they asked me, "You memorized the whole thing already?" I was able to memorize and perform for them on the spot the same day. I feel like I was able to do that because the writing was so good and everything just flowed naturally… About a few days later, I got a phone call; they wanted to do a chemistry read and screen test with [series lead] Kylie Bunbury.

 Once I was cast in the role, I began obsessively watching baseball and trying to identify players who I would want to pattern Blip after. The network, studio and producers of the show provided coaching for me, Kylie and Mark-Paul [Gosselaar]. Then, we began training several times a week… It’s funny because we would have this constant stream of information and clips between me, Kylie and Mark-Paul from YouTube, Instagram or ESPN of different people in the batting box or showing various techniques… We really tried to immerse ourselves in the baseball community as much as we could with everything from the actual physicality of it to talking to former players about the psychological and emotional side.

 What’s it like filming scenes in Petco Park? 

Filming in Petco Park is pretty magical. I think it makes the job a lot easier because sometimes, as an actor, you are so removed from things. But for this, I don’t have to act like I’m playing in the stadium where the Padres play—I am really in the stadium. There is something special about actually being there that makes everything become so real and tangible, and I think it drives the performance to an authentic place. 

We also film at Dodger Stadium, which is a big deal for me because I am an LA native, so to get to play in historic Dodger Stadium only miles away from where I grew up was pretty surreal for me. 

Why do you think Pitch resonates with audiences?

I think Pitch is resonating with audiences because there are a lot of layers and so many different things that people can connect to and relate to in terms of the desire to be successful. Everyone has that desire, but with that desire you inherently encounter obstacles and conflict—the show is full of that.

It’s complicated, it’s messy, it’s heartfelt… You can look at that and strive to be like some of these characters, whether it’s Ginny Baker, who’s a pitcher, the first women drafted and breaking glass ceilings, or you can be like Mike Lawson, who’s had a 15-year career and is the captain of the team. There is Evelyn, who is the support system of a man who has pursued his dreams and she has folded her dream into his, which is a huge sacrifice. 

Even like Al Luongo—I was out the other night, and I was stopped by a fan of the show. He was like an older gentleman, a silver fox gentleman, but he is very different than the 19-year-old person that stops me at the sneaker store. That’s a fan of the show [who] could probably gravitate towards Al: this guys who’s been around for awhile and has been a part of the team, [but] it’s now a very different world. I feel like at some point for all of us the world changes at a pace that we can’t keep up with, so there is that component with the millennials and the older generations. Baby boomers vs. millennials. All of those dynamics are in the show.

 In addition to acting, you’ve also produced and written work. What’s it like working behind the scenes? Are writing and producing something you see yourself pursuing more in the future?

I really push myself to be an artist, and I think art is something that exists without boundaries… Right now, I am in the directing and producing space, and I started a production company where we really want to develop short form content. I work with Mark-Paul Gosselaar from the show because he is also a director and a storyteller—we felt like it would be cool to bring our resources and ideas together and work under a company. We started a company called Scalable Content, and we just want to create interesting narrative pieces to share with the world.

Thank you to everyone who watches this show or has received any of the other art that I have put out into the world. I think it’s very humbling, and I am very aware that I’m getting to live a dream, so anyone who supports that, I [appreciate].  

For Related Articles Try: 

Anastasia Baranova: A Russian Warrior

Actress Melora Hardin

Help a Child with John O'Hurley