Patrick Renna on The Sandlot’s lasting magic, childhood fame and campfire memories.
Patrick Renna has spent more than 30 years being part of people’s summers.
For generations of movie fans, Renna will always be Hamilton “Ham” Porter, the loud, hilarious, and unforgettable heart of The Sandlot. His performance helped turn a 1993 coming-of-age baseball movie into a true summer tradition. Families still watch it together. Fans still quote it. Parents now introduce it to their kids. Kids who grew up with the film now meet Renna at appearances and tell him he has been part of their lives for decades.
That kind of legacy is rare. Renna knows it, and he does not take it lightly.
In an exclusive interview with Nerdtropolis, Renna opened up about The Sandlot, childhood fame, his bond with the cast, his memories from movies like Son in Law, The Big Green, and Punks, and why certain films stay with audiences long after the credits roll. The conversation came as Renna partnered with Hershey’s for its new summer s’mores campaign, which invites fans to join the ultimate campfire debate: Camp Gooey or Camp Toasty?
The result is a perfect match. Renna is tied to summer movie nostalgia. Hershey’s is tied to one of summer’s most classic treats. Together, they are giving fans another reason to gather around, pick a side, and relive the kind of simple memories that never really fade.
Patrick Renna Says Being Part Of The Sandlot’s Legacy Is “Pretty Special”
When Renna looks at the life The Sandlot has had, he still sounds genuinely moved by it.
“It’s really cool to be part of people’s lives like that,” Renna said. “When you meet three generations of people that have seen the same movie, and they say you’ve been in their living room for 30 years, it’s pretty special.”
That line captures why The Sandlot remains more than a movie for so many fans. It is tied to childhood, summer break, baseball fields, neighborhood friends, and the kind of freedom that feels bigger in memory. Renna has seen that love firsthand through cast reunions, convention appearances, and city stops, including visits to Houston with other members of the cast.
Renna said he loves Houston and remembered attending a Rockets game during a previous visit. For him and the cast, those appearances sometimes create surreal moments.
“Sometimes when we’re doing appearances 33 years later, after we’re driving home, we’ll look at each other and be like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe it’s still going,’” Renna said. “You’ve got to pinch yourself once in a while. It’s pretty crazy to have been part of something that has lasted this long.”
That is one of the biggest takeaways from the interview. Renna is not just aware of the nostalgia. He still feels surprised by it. That gives the conversation real warmth because he does not treat the film’s legacy like a talking point. He treats it like something that still feels alive.
Hershey’s Brings Patrick Renna Into A New Summer Tradition
Renna’s new partnership with Hershey’s makes sense because both he and the brand are deeply connected to summer memories.
Hershey’s new Heated Debate campaign asks fans to choose how they make their s’mores: Camp Gooey or Camp Toasty. Beginning June 1, fans can join the conversation on Instagram and TikTok by tagging @hersheys and using #campgooey or #camptoasty.
According to Hershey’s S’mores Heated Debate Report, 69% of s’mores eaters are Camp Toasty. Those fans want the outside of their marshmallow toasted, blackened, or fully set on fire. One-third of Americans fall into Camp Gooey, where the melty center matters most. The report also found that 15% of people have tried bacon or cured meat in a s’more, while 18% have added spicy ingredients such as chili crisp or cayenne.
However, the biggest agreement is the one Hershey’s wanted to hear. According to the report, 95% of Americans agree Hershey’s chocolate belongs in a classic s’more.
Renna said the campaign felt natural as soon as Hershey’s reached out.
“I was very excited when they called because it is kind of a perfect match,” Renna said. “My son did some of the spots with me, so that was really fun. When I got the call, it definitely made sense. I understood why they called.”
That family connection adds another layer to the campaign. Renna is not just lending his face to a summer ad. He is connecting his own love of camping, road trips, outdoor memories, and parenting to a treat that many families build traditions around.
Patrick Renna Is Camp Toasty, And Hershey’s Is “Non-Negotiable”
Renna did not hesitate when asked how he makes his s’mores.
He is Camp Toasty.
“There’s Camp Gooey, which is fine,” Renna said. “Listen, I’m not here to judge. But then there’s Camp Toasty, which is just char the heck out of it. Then I like to let it melt the chocolate. I like the Hershey’s to get nice and melty. That’s why I’m Camp Toasty.”
Renna said the fun comes from everyone having their own method. Some people slowly rotate the marshmallow. Others stick it straight into the flames. Some build it carefully. Others turn it into a sticky mess. Either way, Renna believes the most important ingredient stays the same.
“To each his own,” Renna said. “I think we’re fine whatever way you go. We can all agree that a s’more is not the same without Hershey’s, though. That is non-negotiable.”
Renna also shared a Hershey’s detail that may surprise casual s’mores fans. The little sections of a Hershey’s chocolate bar are called pips.
“How many chocolate bricks? Which, fun fact, they’re actually called pips,” Renna said. “You heard it here first. Hershey’s pips. That’s a big decision. Are you a one-pip guy? A two-pip? Three? Four?”
That moment feels tailor-made for social clips because it is fun, specific, and naturally tied to the campaign. It also gives the article a strong searchable angle for readers looking up Hershey’s s’mores facts.
S’mores, Camping, And The Difference Between Camping And Glamping
For Renna, s’mores are tied to the bigger idea of summer. He remembered swimming pools, beaches, no school, running around, camps, and camping as the kind of images that come back when he thinks of childhood summers.
He still enjoys the outdoors, but he joked that his version of camping has evolved.
“I love camping. I love the wilderness. I love hiking and just the great outdoors,” Renna said. “I’ve always been a big fan of it. I love road trips. Those are fun. Those are some of the things I like to do with my kids now.”
Then came the honest part.
“Truth be told, it’s glamping,” Renna said. “We’ll do a cabin. I don’t know if you’ve laid down on the hard ground lately, and you’re however old we are. We’re not old, like you said. But it’s not the same as it was when we were 15.”
That is the kind of quote that makes the article feel more personal than a brand campaign recap. It shows Renna as a dad, a former child star, and someone who still loves the idea of summer fun, even if the hard ground is no longer part of the plan.
Patrick Renna Has Only Watched The Sandlot About A Dozen Times
One of the most surprising moments from the interview came when Renna revealed that he has not watched The Sandlot as much as fans might think.
“Funny enough, not that many,” Renna said. “I don’t particularly enjoy watching myself on screen.”
Renna said he usually watches a project enough to see how it turned out, but he does not revisit his own work constantly. At appearances, he does not sit and watch the movie if it is being screened.
“I probably only watched the movie like a dozen times, maybe,” Renna said. “Over the years.”
However, his kids recently pulled him back into the film in an unexpected way. Renna said they were watching The Sandlot while he was working nearby, and he found himself getting drawn into it.
“I was on my computer in the dining room, and I looked up, and I was watching it,” Renna said. “It kind of got me a little, and I got into it for a second. It gave me the feels a little.”
That moment gave him a fresh perspective on why people still love it.
“It was really good,” Renna said. “I was like, ‘Oh, I see why people like it.’ It holds up.”
For fans, that quote is one of the strongest pieces in the interview. Renna is not just talking about The Sandlot as something he did. He is seeing it again through the eyes of his kids and the fans who have carried it forward.
Patrick Renna Credits David Mickey Evans For The Sandlot’s Staying Power
Renna remains grateful that his performance has lasted, but he made sure to give major credit to The Sandlot writer-director David Mickey Evans.
“It is why you act, to entertain,” Renna said. “To have been able to be part of something that has entertained people for so long, it’s really cool.”
Then he pointed directly to Evans as the reason the movie works.
“The director, David Mickey Evans, really deserves all the credit,” Renna said. “He wrote it, directed it, narrated it. He was like our big brother on set. That was his passion project. He just killed it. He absolutely killed it.”
That quote gives the article a stronger film-history element. It reminds readers that The Sandlot worked because it had a clear creative voice. Evans built a movie that felt like memory, myth, and childhood adventure all at once.
Renna’s praise also adds depth because it shows how strongly he still respects the movie’s creation. He does not just talk about the catchphrases or fan reaction. He talks about the person who shaped the whole thing.
Patrick Renna And Chauncey Leopardi Had A Wild Home Alone Moment
Renna also shared one of the interview’s best behind-the-scenes stories. When asked which Sandlot castmate he bonded with quickly, he pointed to Chauncey Leopardi, who played Squints.
“Chauncey. probably. Squints,” Renna said. “He and I became really good friends. Our moms became really good friends. He and I actually did three movies together after The Sandlot.”
Renna said he and Leopardi were paired together for parts of the press tour. That included a stop in San Francisco, where they stayed at the Ritz-Carlton with their mothers. As kids who had never experienced that kind of hotel treatment, they were told they could order whatever they wanted.
So they did.
“We had our Home Alone moment,” Renna said. “We had trays of food. They got champagne. We got Ritz-Carlton sweatsuits, robes. I don’t even want to know how much we spent.”
The fun did not last long.
“We got a knock on the door the next morning, and they’re like, ‘Hey, when we said get anything you want, we didn’t really mean anything you want,’” Renna said. “So they cut us off.”
That story is pure ’90s movie-kid gold. It is funny, specific, and gives readers a peek at what life looked like behind the scenes when a group of young actors suddenly found themselves promoting a studio film.
The Sandlot Cast Was Really Like A Group Of Brothers
Renna said the Sandlot cast had real brotherly energy. That meant friendship, teasing, roughhousing, and the occasional punch.
He remembered Shane Obedzinski, who played Tommy “Repeat” Timmons, punching him in the face on camera.
“He was so much smaller, it just kind of bounced off of me,” Renna said. “I went up to his mom, who I’m really close with now, and I said, ‘Your son just punched me in the face.’ She looked at me and went, ‘Good.’”
Renna laughed about it now, but the story says a lot about the cast dynamic. These were kids making a summer movie about kids. Their real energy made its way onto the screen.
“We were little punks,” Renna said. “All of us were good kids, but we were kids. We would roughhouse. We’d get in fights with each other. We were like brothers.”
That brotherhood is part of why the movie still works. The friendship never feels fake. The boys feel like kids who would actually spend every day together at a dusty baseball field, arguing, laughing, competing, and creating their own little world.
Patrick Renna Says The Goonies Was His Sandlot
Renna has been part of many people’s childhood movie memories, but he also has his own.
When asked about the movie that shaped him, Renna named The Goonies.
“Goonies was really my Sandlot for sure,” Renna said. “I loved that movie.”
It is easy to see the connection. Both films center on young characters, friendship, adventure, and the kind of childhood freedom that feels harder to capture now. Renna said he did not have one single moment when he decided to become an actor. Instead, performing came naturally.
“I don’t remember a moment of going, ‘Oh, I want to be an actor,’” Renna said. “I just always liked doing it. It was always something that I was good at, and that kind of came naturally to me.”
Then, in classic Renna fashion, he gave a different answer.
“I take it back,” Renna said. “Van Damme, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and his splits. That’s what I was aspiring to do. I always wanted to just do that full split. Never happened. But that was my mentor.”
It is another funny, human moment that gives the interview personality. Renna can move from heartfelt reflection to a Jean-Claude Van Damme joke without missing a beat.
Patrick Renna Looks Back At Son In Law
After The Sandlot, Renna quickly moved into other memorable projects, including Son in Law. He said that the movie was a very different experience because he was no longer surrounded by a large group of kids.
On The Sandlot, he and the young cast were central to the story. On Son in Law, he entered a bigger adult ensemble with Pauly Shore, Carla Gugino, Tiffany-Amber Thiessen, Lane Smith, Cindy Pickett, and Mason Adams.
“When I did Son in Law, now there’s Pauly Shore, there’s Carla Gugino, there’s Tiffany-Amber Thiessen, there’s Lane Smith who played my dad, Mason Adams my grandpa,” Renna said. “There’s all sorts of legendary actors.”
Renna said the shift taught him a lot.
“Everywhere I turned was a learning experience,” Renna said. “It was very different to be on that movie.”
He also joked about what it was like being 14 years old around that cast.
“Everyone always talks about Wendy Peppercorn, but I went on a movie with Carla Gugino and Tiffany-Amber Thiessen at 14,” Renna said. “That was very confusing.”
That kind of quote gives the piece a fun nostalgia hook beyond The Sandlot. It connects Renna to the broader ’90s movie landscape and gives readers another reason to stay with the article.
The Big Green Felt Closer To The Sandlot, But Renna Was Older
Renna also reflected on The Big Green, the 1995 sports comedy that became another childhood favorite for ’90s kids.
He said the film felt closer to The Sandlot because it returned him to a kid-centered ensemble. However, by that point, Renna had more experience and was growing up fast.
“The Big Green kind of fell back into the kid thing,” Renna said. “But again, I was 15 then. I was one year away from graduating and being on my own because I graduated early.”
Renna said that by the time he moved into later teen roles, he had already built up enough experience to work more independently.
“By 17, 18, I was traveling to Canada and filming,” Renna said. “I filmed X-Files at 18 on my own. I was in Canada for a month filming that.”
That part of the interview adds valuable context. Renna was not just a kid actor who appeared in a beloved movie. He was working steadily, adapting quickly, and learning the difference between film sets, TV sets, and major productions at an age when most people are just figuring out high school.
Patrick Renna Explains Why TV Was Harder Than Movies
One of the more revealing sections of the interview came when Renna talked about the difference between making movies and guest-starring on television.
He said he did not enjoy TV as much in the earlier part of his career.
“TV nowadays is cool,” Renna said. “TV then was a very different experience, and I didn’t like guest-starring on shows because you’re coming into someone else’s territory, and they’re not always the nicest.”
Renna clarified that people were not necessarily mean. The challenge was entering a show where the cast and crew already had a rhythm.
“This is sort of their 20th or 50th episode, but your first,” Renna said. “So it means a lot more to you, and it means nothing to them. That vibe is tough to jump into.”
He said modern television feels different because many shows now function more like limited runs or “mini movies.” He pointed to GLOW as a positive experience.
“When I did a couple episodes on GLOW, I loved that experience,” Renna said. “All the girls were so welcoming. That was a lot of fun.”
Renna also mentioned appearances on The X-Files, ER, Judging Amy, and Boston Legal. He said The X-Files was cool because of the scale of the production, while ER and courtroom shows stood out because of their sets.
Patrick Renna On Home Improvement And Feeling Out Of Place
Renna also got candid about his guest appearance on Home Improvement. Although the show remains a favorite for many fans, Renna said his personal experience was not one of his favorites.
LAURA BELL BUNDY;JONATHAN TAYLOR THOMAS;PATRICK RENNA
“Honestly, that was one I didn’t love,” Renna said.
He explained that he knew Zachery Ty Bryan a little and later became friendly with him, but at the time, he did not know many people on the show. The cast was already successful, and the production moved quickly.
“Everyone was lovely, or it was fine,” Renna said. “But again, it was like a two-day thing. I’m out of my element. It was a smaller part. I remember that vividly, being uncomfortable.”
That kind of honesty makes the interview stronger. It is not negative or mean. It is simply real. Renna gives readers a better understanding of what it felt like to be a young actor stepping into established shows where everyone else already belonged.
Patrick Renna Calls Punks A Fun Set With A Great Cast
Renna also reflected on Punks, the 1999 family adventure film directed by Sean McNamara. The film featured a cast that included Jessica Alba, Randy Quaid, Henry Winkler, and more.
“Punks was a lot of fun,” Renna said. “It was a great group of a great cast. We all got along really well.”
Renna praised McNamara for making the set enjoyable.
“The director was really cool, Sean McNamara,” Renna said. “I remember he made that a very enjoyable set.”
He also had warm words for Henry Winkler, who was already a television icon thanks to his role as the Fonz on Happy Days.
“Henry Winkler was so nice,” Renna said. “For him to be that gracious at that point in his career was really cool.”
That answer gives the piece another nostalgia layer. Renna’s career touched multiple eras of entertainment, from ’70s TV icons to ’90s family movies to streaming-era series and modern social campaigns.
Patrick Renna Still Feels Grateful Fans Follow His Work
Renna said it means a lot that fans continue to support him, whether they know him from The Sandlot, his other film roles, television appearances, social media, or a new campaign with Hershey’s.
“That means a lot because I’m still doing it,” Renna said. “You want to be successful at whatever you do. So people still enjoying the work that I’m putting out, whether it’s in a movie or social media or a campaign with someone like Hershey’s, it’s very humbling and very appreciated.”
That is the emotional center of the article. Renna is still working, still connecting with fans and still finding new ways to tap into the nostalgia that made him part of so many childhoods.
His Hershey’s campaign works because it does not feel random. It connects directly to the feelings people already associate with him: summer, childhood, laughter, family, and memories that keep getting passed down.
Hershey’s Flavor Combos S’mores Kit Gives Fans New Ways To Build The Classic Treat
As part of the campaign, the HERSHEY’S Flavor Combos S’mores Kit gives fans a new way to make s’mores at home, at the campsite, or during backyard summer nights.
The 29.01-ounce kit includes three Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bars, three Hershey’s Milk Chocolate with Caramel Bars, three Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, two packs of graham crackers, and one bag of marshmallows.
The kit adds a playful twist to the classic s’more by giving fans different chocolate combinations in one box. It also fits the campaign’s bigger idea: everyone has their own way of making the perfect s’more.
The kit is available through retailers including Sam’s Club, Costco, BJ’s Wholesale Club, and Walmart.
How Fans Can Join Hershey’s Camp Gooey Vs. Camp Toasty Debate
Fans can join Hershey’s Heated Debate campaign on Instagram and TikTok starting this month by sharing their s’mores style, tagging @hersheys, and using #campgooey or #camptoasty.
The campaign encourages fans to pick a side and show off their own s’mores rituals. Are they slow-roasting the marshmallow until it reaches golden perfection? Are they setting it on fire and letting the char do the work? Are they adding peanut butter cups, caramel chocolate, spice, fruit, or something even more unexpected?
For Renna, the details matter, but the real point is the memory.
S’mores are not just about dessert. They are about gathering outside, laughing with family, passing the chocolate, dropping marshmallows into the fire, and making a sticky mess that somehow becomes the best part of the night.
That is why this campaign fits him so well. Renna helped define one of the great summer movies. Now, he is helping Hershey’s celebrate one of the great summer traditions.
Patrick Renna’s Summer Legacy Comes Full Circle
Patrick Renna did not set out to become a symbol of summer nostalgia, but that is exactly what happened.
Through The Sandlot, he became part of a movie that fans still return to when they want to feel like kids again. Through his other roles, he became a familiar face across ’90s movies and TV. Through appearances and fan events, he continues to see how much those projects mean to people.
Now, through Hershey’s Heated Debate campaign, Renna is connecting that same feeling to another American summer ritual.
Some fans are Camp Gooey. Others are Camp Toasty. Renna knows where he stands. He wants the marshmallow charred, the chocolate melty, and the Hershey’s in place.
Everything else is up for debate.
HERSHEY’S Flavor Combos S’mores Kit Details
The 29.01-ounce HERSHEY’S Flavor Combos S’mores Kit includes:
3 Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bars
3 Hershey’s Milk Chocolate with Caramel Bars
3 Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
2 packs of graham crackers
1 bag of marshmallows
Available through Sam’s Club, Costco, BJ’s Wholesale Club and Walmart.
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Sean Tajipour
Sean Tajipour is the Founder and Editor of Nerdtropolis and the host of the Moviegoers Society and Reel Insights Podcast. He is also a member of the Critics Choice Association. You can follow on Twitter and Instagram @Seantaj.
