Nobody can fill the shoes of Hollywood star Tom Hanks, of that actress Kelly McCormack is certain.

Yet on the new TV series 鈥淎 League of Their Own,鈥� the Vancouver native was assigned a task nearly as stressful as emulating Hanks: saying one of his most iconic catchphrases.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no crying in baseball!鈥�

The five words are wailed by Hanks in the 1992 sports comedy, as he plays alcoholic manager Jimmy Duggan who belittles his ragtag team of female baseball players all the way to the World Series.

In Amazon鈥檚 substantially reimagined episodic remake, which debuts Friday on Prime Video, McCormack鈥檚 character says the exact same words in a different context. Her version is a factual mic drop of sorts, with her character 鈥� a Rockford Peaches shortstop from Moose Jaw, Sask. 鈥� blurting out the statement before storming away from her team.

鈥淚 was thrilled and excited 鈥� and then I was immediately terrified,鈥� McCormack said of learning she would recite the famous quote.

鈥淢y strategy was just to say it; not try to delve into any sort of homage to Tom Hanks.鈥�

McCormack is still nervous about how her performance will be received. Ahead of the show鈥檚 release, she says she鈥檚 asked the few people who鈥檝e seen the episode whether they think her delivery works.

The tweak is one of many curveballs in a reboot that tosses out the playbook of the original movie.

While both the film and TV series are based on the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL), the TV version of 鈥淎 League of Their Own鈥� heads in a different direction by disposing some prominent characters, introducing new ones, and playing out over an eight-episode arc that mainly unfolds off the field.

The extra runtime allows co-creator and lead actress Abbi Jacobson, formerly of 鈥淏road City,鈥� to explore narratives about race and gender identity in the 1940s, while lending more screen time to a queer culture that existed in the shadows of the women鈥檚 baseball team.

Historical accounts have detailed romantic relationships between some players that were kept hidden.

The women鈥檚 baseball teams faced strict rules on presentation. They couldn鈥檛 be seen wearing trousers and weren鈥檛 allowed to smoke. The league lived by the motto, 鈥淧lay like a man, look like a lady.鈥�

During a recent panel at the Tribeca Film Festival, Maybelle Blair, a pitcher for the AAGPBL鈥檚 Peoria Redwings, spoke about her experiences before coming out as a lesbian for what she said was 鈥渂asically the first time.鈥� She鈥檚 95 years old.

鈥淎 League of Their Own鈥� balances the verve and humour of the original film while it wrestles with themes of prejudice and the pressures of conforming.

鈥淓very time we were reading the scripts, it was sort of a shock to go: 鈥榃ow, we鈥檙e actually doing this,鈥欌�� McCormack said.

鈥淲hen I watch the series, my first reaction is I have never seen something like this before.鈥�

Beyond owning Hanks鈥� famous line, McCormack plays a supporting role as Jess McCready, a fictional shortstop who migrated south of the border from Moose Jaw to, as the actress puts it, play baseball, smoke cigarettes and hit on women.

The character was written before McCormack was cast, but she said the writers allowed her to fine-tune the specifics.

The actress drew on research about the Prairies to deepen her understanding of who a 鈥渞ural farm boy鈥� of the time might be.

When talking about the character, McCormack uses various pronouns, eventually concluding that Jess probably wouldn鈥檛 be focused on how their identity took form in words.

鈥淚 was excited to play someone whose vocation and passion superseded any other type of self-identity,鈥� McCormack said.

鈥淯ltimately, Jess identifies as a ballplayer.鈥�

Some viewers may find 鈥淎 League of Their Own鈥� plays too liberally with the original film, but McCormack said there wasn鈥檛 a moment where she second-guessed what the creators were doing.

鈥淲hat I thought was, there still isn鈥檛 an all-American professional girls baseball league; there still isn鈥檛 a professional place for women to play baseball. So heaven forbid, we give these women a little more airtime,鈥� she said.

鈥淲hatever the film started, we just took the baton and kept running with it.鈥�

David Friend, The Canadian Press

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