Hawaii News Now - KGMB and KHNLShane Victorino goes Hollywood on Hawaii Five-0

KUALOA (HawaiiNewsNow) - The "Flyin' Hawaiian" takes on Hollywood!

Maui's own Shane Victorino has never even taken an acting lesson, but when producers of Hawaii Five-0 came calling, the Philadelphia Phillies all-star stepped up to the plate.

We know Victorino can play centerfield … but can he take center stage? In Monday's (February 20th) episode of Hawaii Five-0", Shane plays "Shaun" – an employee who's on Oahu with co-workers on a team-building exercise. Before his scene ...

"Hope you're ready. Gotta make sure I look good with my beautiful hair!" says Victorino as he rubs his head.

… it's hair and make-up. And let's just say, he was in and out of that chair faster than a stolen base. Then, we were driven up to the set in Kualoa.

I ask him, "What's more stress? Right now ... as you get ready to do your scene ... or playing in a World Series?"

Victorino says, "I'll let you answer that. What do you think's easier?"

"I think this would be cake!" I say.

"I would have to argue and say probably not," answers Victorino.

"Really?" I'm pretty shocked.

He says,"I mean, hey, it's something that I'm not used to doing. Obviously, playing in the game, playing in the World Series, I played the game of baseball everyday as a kid. And I just saw it as another game. I didn't think, 'Okay, I'm playing in the biggest stage of my career or my life', but I just looked at it as playing another game. So, that definitely kept my nerves down, but I'm definitely a lot more nervous now. Trust me."

Well, Hawaii Five-0 star - and lifelong Phillies fan - Daniel Dae Kim doesn't buy it for a second. "You gotta be kidding me!" exclaims Kim. "50,000 fans, bottom of 9th, 3-2, facing an ace closer? You can't tell me that that's not more nerve-wracking than being in our little show! I appreciate what he says. Much respect to Shane, but ... he's wrong!" Kim laughs.

Victorino took a tour of the Five-0 set last year, and executive producer Peter Lenkov liked him so much, he nixed the cameo idea and wrote a small part for him.

"I thought it would be more interesting for him and more of a challenge," says Lenkov. "You know, he's Shane Victorino 24/7, so I thought it would be interesting for him to come here and play a character."

Once we got to the set, number 8 put on his game face.

"Ready, and action!" yelled director Steve Boyum.

Shaun (Shane) says, "Well, what's the problem?"

Victorino only had three lines …

"This trip ain't about partying. It's about team-building. So, let's go!" shouts Shaun.

… but the director thought he hit 'em out of the ballpark.

"Shane did great. I had high hopes, and he exceeded the high hopes," says Boyum.

After the two-and-a-half hour shoot, Victorino described his day. "Being here today, I think, just being amongst everybody, was something, again, I'll never forget. It's one of those experiences I will always cherish, and I had a lot of fun doing it."

Naturally, we had to ask if he'd ever toss the glove for the glitter of Tinseltown. "I'm focused on the game of baseball right now, and maybe when it's all said and done, maybe an acting career, but again, I'm in no rush to look that far ahead."

He may not be ready to trade his red cap for the red carpet just yet, but fans could be seeing more of the Flyin' Hawaiian for years to come.