Five Things You Didn’t Know About Rob Corddry

Rob Corddry and the Rock, looking sharp for Ballers. / Photograph by Jeff Daly/Courtesy of HBO

In his role as Joe—the blunt, fast-talking money manager on Ballers—Rob Corddry gets to hang out with the likes of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, his co-star in the HBO comedy. But for the dyed-in-the-wool Boston sports fan, the biggest perk came when a few Patriots players stopped by the set during filming for Season 2. Coproduced by Mark Wahlberg, the show returns on July 17. Ahead, Corddry gives us the inside scoop on his adventures on and off the screen.

1. He has his own theory about why Bostonians can’t stop breaking people’s balls.

“We’re descended from Puritans. It’s cold most of the year. It’s a working-class town with traditional roots. We like tearing each other apart a little bit. If someone breaks my balls, it means they love me enough to break my balls.”

2. A Daily Show piece on Boston reconnected Rob with his junior high bully.

“She admitted that she had a crush on me. She was a tough chick, and I was not a tough dude.”

3. He first honed his acting skills around a Boy Scout campfire.

“My brother and I would come alive in Boy Scouts. We’d do sketches and skits and songs. It was my favorite part of camping.”

4. He got to slap the Rock during one scene of Season 2 of Ballers—and it was a surprisingly satisfying experience.

“Sometimes you do that on a set and the other actor will be like, ‘Hit me.’ Usually that other actor is an asshole because you don’t have to get hit. We’re all doing fiction here. But he’s a professional wrestler as well as being an actor. I’ve been close up to those wrestling matches. Wrestling is not fake. They’re actually hitting each other.”

5. He even got to chill with Rob Gronkowski.

“He was hanging out on set because he was in Miami. That was a dream come true. He doesn’t show up in the season, unfortunately, but a couple of Patriots do.”