Summary

• "The Hill" is a biographical sports drama film based on the true story of Rickey Hill's journey to becoming a professional baseball player.
• The movie features a star-studded cast, including Dennis Quaid, Scott Glenn, and Joelle Carter, playing characters based on real people in Hill's life.
• Former MLB player and current color commentator John Smoltz makes a cameo in the film.

Rickey Hill is at the center of the story in The Hill, but the movie shines a spotlight on many other significant figures in the baseball player's life, including his parents, girlfriend, and the man who discovered him. The 2023 biographical sports drama film, directed by Jeff Celentano, is based on a true story and depicts Hill's journey from dreaming about being a professional athlete to overcoming numerous physical ailments to ensure his dreams become a reality. Given that the real Hill served as an executive producer on the project, the movie is seemingly very truthful to his story.

The cast of The Hill contains a plethora of stars, including Dennis Quaid and Scott Glenn, and all the cast (if not most of them) play characters based on real people. Of course, the main and ing characters in the biographical sports film are related to Hill's inspiring story. However, some actors portrayed figures who might also be recognizable to baseball fans.

Dennis Quaid As Pastor James Hill

Dennis Quaid was born on April 9, 1954, in Houston, Texas, and has one older brother, Randy Quaid, who also grew up to be an actor. Quaid married four times throughout his life, including to P.J. Soles from 1978 to 1983, Meg Ryan from 1991 to 2001, Kimberly Buffington from 2004 to 2018, and Laura Savoie in 2020. He had three children overall, including Jack Quaid with Ryan, who followed in his parents' footsteps. Although he had acted in many movies beforehand, Quaid's breakout role was as Gordon Cooper in The Right Stuff in 1983.

Aside from The Right Stuff and The Hill, some of Quaid's most memorable films are the ones that featured him as the leading man. He starred in movies such as Great Balls of Fire!, The Parent Trap, Traffic, Far From Heaven, The Rookie (another baseball movie), The Day After Tomorrow, Vantage Point, and Midway. Quaid also appeared in some television shows, like Goliath, Merry Happy Whatever, and Lawman: Bass Reeves. As for his future projects, Quaid is set to star as the titular presidential character in Reagan, which doesn't have a release date yet.

The Hill is available to stream on Netflix.

Quaid stars as Pastor James Hill in The Hill. Pastor Hill is Rickey Hill's father, and throughout the 2023 biographical sports drama, he worries about his son's health and discourages him from pursuing a baseball career because he is afraid of Rickey further injuring himself. Nevertheless, by the movie's end, Pastor Hill is ive and by his son's side during his tryout.

Colin Ford As Rickey Hill

Colin Ford was born on September 12, 1996, in Nashville, Tennessee. Ford started his acting career at a young age, having modeled for ments as a toddler before he landed his first movie role as Clinton Jr. in Sweet Home Alabama in 2002 at the age of five. The actor continued working as an actor throughout his childhood while attending school.

Some of Ford's most significant roles come from films and television series alike. Viewers might recognize the actor from his parts in movies such as Push, We Bought a Zoo, and Captain Marvel. However, Ford is probably best known for starring in Supernatural, Under the Dome, Daybreak, and Walker.

As for The Hill, Ford plays Rickey Hill in the biographical sports drama. As mentioned above, Rickey aspires to play baseball professionally, but his poor health limits his chances of achieving his dream. Nevertheless, he pushes forward and is determined to be a professional baseball player, even though he has a degenerative spinal disease and several other ailments.

Joelle Carter As Hellen Hill

Joelle Carter was born on October 10, 1972, in Thomasville, Georgia, but since her father was in the United States Army, she and her family moved around a lot throughout her youth. Carter got her start as a model, having moved to New York at 19 years old to pursue a career. However, she soon became more interested in acting, resulting in a move to Los Angeles, where she landed parts in films like High Fidelity and American Pie 2 and shows like Wonderland and Third Watch.

Carter is most recognized for playing Ava Crowder in Justified and Laura Nagel in Chicago Justice, the short-lived installment in NBC's One Chicago franchise. The actress also guest starred in numerous procedural series like Law & Order, CSI: Miami, Cold Case, Grey's Anatomy, Castle, The Rookie, and FBI. And, of course, Carter appears in The Hill.

Carter stars as Hellen Hill, Rickey Hill's mother and Pastor Hill's wife in The Hill. Like her husband, Hellen is concerned about her son's safety while he insists on pursuing his dream of becoming a baseball player. However, the matriarch of the Hill family eventually comes around to the idea and s Rickey's aspirations.

Scott Glenn As Red Murff

Scott Glenn was born on January 26, 1939, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The veteran actor was in the United States Marine Corps for three years before he decided to pursue a writing career. Glenn quickly discovered writing wasn't the right path for him, so he moved over to acting, and the rest is history.

Over the years, Glenn has starred in multiple impressive films and television shows. Some of his most significant roles were Glenn Kelly in Nashville, Wes Hightower in Urban Cowboy, Alan Shepard in The Right Stuff, Captain Bart Mancuso in The Hunt for Red October, Jack Crawford in The Silence of the Lambs, John Adcox in Backdraft, Roger in Training Day, Ezra Kramer in The Bourne Ultimatum, Kevin Garvey Sr. in The Leftovers, and as Stick in Netflix's Daredevil.

In the 2023 biographical sports drama, Scott Glenn appeared as Red Murff, a famous baseball scout known for discovering Nolan Ryan, one of the best MLB pitchers of all time. Murff is hesitant to give Rickey Hill a shot toward the end of The Hill, but Rickey's persistence drives Murff to watch him play. Rickey's hitting impresses Murff, who ends up helping him sign a contract with the Montreal Expos, as stated in the film's end credits.

Siena Bjornerud As Gracie Shanz

Siena Bjornerud was born in 1999 in Seattle, Washington, and grew up in Denver, Colorado. The actress got her start by dancing for the Maine State, Pacific Northwest, and Colorado ballet companies before she studied acting at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Bjornerud then moved to Los Angeles to pursue her acting (and singing) career.

Aside from The Hill, some might recognize Bjornerud from starring as Julie in Underdog. Her other credits include short films and music videos, so it seems like her acting career is only just taking off. Bjornerud is also set to appear in The Lovely Dark and Enliven.

Bjornerud plays Gracie Shanz, Rickey's girlfriend, in The Hill. Unlike her fellow co-stars, Gracie is not a real person, but she is based on Hill's significant other in real life. Bjornerud's character is inspired by Hill's former wife, Sherran, whom he married in 1975. Unfortunately, the couple divorced in 1986, but they had two children together.

The Hill ing Cast & Characters

Ryan Dinning as Robert Hill - Ryan Dinning stars as Robert Hill, Rickey Hill's brother, in The Hill. Before appearing in the 2023 sports drama, Dinning had roles in Lovecraft Country, Claws, The Best of Enemies, and Just Mercy.

Carina Worm as Connie Hill - Connie Hill, played by Carina Worm, is Rickey's sister in the movie. Worm is known for starring in The Vampire Diaries, Vice Principals, Bad Girl, and Dead Silent.

Bonnie Bedelia as Gram - Bonnie Bedelia portrays Gram, Rickey's grandmother, in The Hill. Bedelia, the aunt of Macaulay and Kieran Culkin, has also starred in Love of Life, They Shoot Horses, Don't They, The Division, and Parenthood.

Randy Ho as Ray Clemons - Randy Ho stars as Ray Clemons, a football coach who encourages Rickey to pursue his dreams of playing baseball. Viewers might also recognize Ho for his country singing career — he has released six studio albums since 2008.

John Smoltz as a color commentator - John Smoltz made a cameo as a baseball color commentator in The Hill. In real life, Smoltz is a famous color commentator and analyst for Fox Sports and the MLB Network. Smoltz is a former MLB pitcher who played for the Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, and St. Louis Cardinals from 1988 to 2009. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015.