Jake Johnson Jokes Aaron Chen Became His “Real-Life Ed Harris” for 'The Dink'

In The Dink, Dusty Boyd (Jake Johnson) spends much of the story trying to win the approval of his father, played by Ed Harris. For Johnson, however, that role ended up being filled by someone else during filming: Aaron Chen.

In an exclusive interview with Omelete, Johnson gave a humorous answer when asked about Dusty’s emotional journey.

“I think it’s my relationship with my road partner, Aaron Chen. He’s my Ed Harris in real life. I’d love to have his approval, but I’m afraid of him. That’s why I wanted to bring him into this movie with me, hoping he could give me, through the script, some encouragement as PJ. That way, at the end, I could look him in the eye and ask, ‘How did I do?’”

Chen immediately played along.

“And because of the script, I have to say, ‘You’re doing really well.’”

Johnson then pressed him:

“But in real life, what do you think?”

To which Aaron replied:

“You’re doing amazing.”

The exchange got laughs during the interview and ended up reflecting one of the film’s central themes: the search for approval and belonging.

Everything you need to know about The Dink

The story follows Dusty Boyd (Jake Johnson), a once-promising tennis prodigy now in decline, who finds himself forced to coach unruly kids at his father Chuck’s (Ed Harris) suburban country club.

Desperate for his father’s approval, Dusty supports Chuck’s obsession against the club’s newest craze: pickleball. When an old injury worsens, preventing him from playing tennis, he turns to the unthinkable: trying pickleball, and with the help of his partner Candace (Mary Steenburgen), he ends up enjoying the sport. Torn between two worlds, Dusty is forced to confront the ghosts of his past failures, including his former childhood rival, played by Andy Roddick himself.

The comedy is an underdog story, with a screenplay by Sean Clements (Workaholics). The cast also includes Patton Oswalt, Chloe Fineman, Chris Parnell, and Aaron Chen, as well as appearances by Andy Roddick and Ben Stiller.

The film is produced by Ben Stiller, John Lesher, Rob Paris, Mike Witherill, and Jake Johnson.

The Dink is now available on Apple TV.