To understand the wonder that is Eric Wdowiak, you should understand that I’ve seen him naked. As the star of Jordan Schulkin ’06’s senior thesis film, for which I am the assistant director, Eric’s been through a lot: doused in fake blood and pus, stuck with acupuncture needles and glass shards, and forced to wear a man-thong for a sex scene. When the thong kept falling and didn’t look real enough, Eric ditched it and went full-throttle naked. Because he’s just that kind of a guy.
KATEY RICH: So give me the full list. Tell me everything you’re involved in.
ERIC WDOWIAK: I guess you could say I’m like Wesleyan’s poster-child for extracurricular activities. I’m a pitcher and a captain of the baseball team. I’m a DKE brother. I perform in a lot of different groups on campus, Lunchbox [sketch comedy], Quasimodal [a capella] and Ebony Singers, which is class but it’s a performance.
KR: How do you get away with crossing that line of the “jock-techie” divide? You’re like straddling the middle of it.
EW: Yeah, yeah, I know about it. I hang out with both sides. I think there needs to be a little more give and take on both sides of that spectrum. I’ve always tried to balance myself out. You just keep an open mind for everyone you meet.
KR: Do you get a hard time from either side?
EW: Yeah, I get jabs from the DKE brothers and my teammates. I’m the theater nerd. And for the theater kids I’m the fraternity jock.
KR: What are you more attached to at this point?
EW: Right now I’m in my performing stage. In high school I would play soccer in the fall, when winter came I would do two musicals, and then baseball season would come. Since I’ve been in college I’ve focused heavily on acting and performing in the fall and then when spring comes I tend to focus on baseball. My plan is actually to play baseball after college
KR: How does that work?
EW: My coach has connections with some pro scouts who will come and watch me pitch. If that doesn’t work out then there are independent leagues all across the states. You can also play in Europe. They have a lot of leagues just starting up. They bring Americans in as ringers.
KR: What do you want to do in the end?
EW: I want to be the first professional baseball player to win a Tony and Oscar.
KR: Do you really think you’ll be able to keep up the acting?
EW: I think so. It’s the perfect balance for me. I really like getting to experience both worlds. Playing baseball becomes a career, sure, but there’s always an off-season. My number-one reason for going after baseball now is one day I will have to hang up the cleats, if I’m too old or too injured or whatever. But I can act for the rest of my life until I die.
KR: Speaking of injuries, how about that bad-ass scar? [The scar is 15 inches long and reaches from his knee to his inner thigh] What’s your favorite story about how you got it?
EW: Shark bite. I begin the story with asking if they’ve heard of the four shark attacks on the Jersey shore, and I say I was one of them. I’ve gotten a few people actually. I’ve also said knife fight.
KR: What was the actual surgery?
EW: It was arterial bypass surgery. The artery that serves blood into my arm was clogged. My first rib and my collarbone were pushing against it. They took out my first rib.
KR: And made a woman out of it?
EW: I asked them if I could keep it and they wouldn’t let me know, I don’t know why. I was thinking about dipping it in chrome and wearing it around my neck when I pitched. They took that out and took the artery out and replaced it with a vein in my leg. I’ve actually been pitching better since the surgery, better than before I was injured.
KR: Like “Rookie of the Year.”
EW: Yeah. Funky butt-lovin’.
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