This Actor Played a Quarterback in a Movie, But Can He Actually Throw a Ball?

When it comes to the great high school movie canon, there are timeless classics that made a real impact on our collective cultural memory. The Breakfast Club, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Heathers, and so on. But a less well-remembered teen movie has just reentered the public consciousness, for a pretty funny reason.

A clip from The DUFF, a teenage romantic comedy starring Mae Whitman and Robbie Amell from 2015, went viral after sports journalist Marcus Mosher pointed out that Amell, who played a star quarterback in the movie, seriously lacked skill when it came to throwing a football.

Check out this “star QB” throwing motion. Why do actors struggle to throw a football like a regular humans? pic.twitter.com/eHhUhpVfav

“He’s extremely stiff, and he has a jerky shoulder motion that wouldn’t serve him well if he were actually throwing any more than like five yards,” says Brett Williams, associate fitness editor at Men’s Health and former pro football player. “The biggest problem with the movie clip is that there’s no follow through. He needs to extend that downward motion. He’s ‘short-arming it,’ to use the technical jargon.”

“I’ve been dreading these tweets since the first time I saw the movie,” Amell tweeted, after the clip caught his attention. He pointed out that the logistics of a film set actually prevented him from throwing the ball properly, saying: “There is a PA standing two feet from me who has to catch these balls so they don’t hit the thousands of dollars of camera equipment and lighting set up.”

And while that is a logical explanation, Amell still felt the need to prove himself. His wife, Italia Ricci, took to Twitter to complain that date night had been ruined, and that Amell was currently out in the yard pumping up a football which she was “definitely going to be asked to film him throwing.” And she was right.

Apologies to my very pregnant wife @italiaricci for having to video this but she’s in no condition to catch.

It’s not perfect but at least it’s better than the movie.

Off to salvage date night.

Thanks @ChadSans pic.twitter.com/97lxrO4aAb

A marked improvement, for sure. But does Amell’s technique stand up to “star quarterback” standards? And would this throw secure him the football scholarship his character desperately needs in the movie?

“In this second clip, the motion is a little more natural, and his shoulder action looks a bit better,” says Williams. “You can tell that the he can actually throw, but his arm immediately springing back up is still not great. For playing catch in a parking lot, though, it’ll serve.”

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