The Insider.com

I may not know much about sports beyond which athletes date celebrities, but a good sports movie makes me white-knuckle the armrest right along with the rest of America as the home team inevitably finds themselves with one shot left at winning the big game.

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And while Crooked Arrows (Brandon Routh's new movie about a Native American lacrosse team) does have the requisite countdown to zero as the shot sails towards the goal, there is so much more to this story than meets the eye. It's a tale of spirituality, culture and how the two are forever intertwined with this immensely popular sport. All of which led Brandon to join the team!

Insider.com: How do you describe Crooked Arrows?
Brandon Routh: I loved that it was about lacrosse, but the fact it had a rich, emotional journey made it even better. And then there's this payoff about what lacrosse means to the Native American people. It's a classic underdog sports movie about a Native American lacrosse team – like Mighty Ducks if you want to go there.

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Insider: I liked that you invoked The Mighty Ducks!
Brandon: [laughs] It's a classic.

Insider: How familiar were you with lacrosse before the movie?
Brandon: I grew up playing soccer. I had a small exposure to lacrosse in eighth grade gym class, but there was no place to play in Iowa. I wish I had played when I was younger. I wish there had been an outlet for it.

Insider: Throughout your career, you've jumped genres a lot. When you're going to the movies, what are you most drawn to?
Brandon: Anything that lets me have an emotional response – whether it's humorous or energetic or makes me cry. Even though it's not the most fun, sometimes you need that catharsis to release things emotionally that were pent up. Films can do amazing things. It's about going on a journey while being entertained.

Insider: Speaking of a journey, you're about to star on CBS' new comedy Partners. Do you like the idea of playing a character, potentially, for years?
Brandon: It's a little bit daunting, to be honest. To think even about 22 episodes of the same character is a little bit crazy. Other than the soap opera I did, which I don't really count, I've never quite done this before. Even Chuck was over three years. It might be very cool to fine tune the character. Wyatt is a lot of fun because I tend to be drawn to are dim-witted characters – one of the first roles I ever played was a redneck in this high school play and I got my first laughs there, so I've always been drawn to that type of innocent, dim-witted character.

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Insider: In real life you're married [to actress Courtney Ford]. Did you have any qualms about playing a gay character?
Brandon: No. Plus, this isn't the first gay role I've played. In this day and age, it's not a big deal to me. Especially being in the hands of showrunners like David Kohan and Max Mutchnick. It couldn't be a better situation. It's not a problem for me.

Insider: Comments like that are going to make your already large gay following exponentially increase.
Brandon: [laughs] Yes, I definitely am aware of that fanbase. I learned with Superman how much of an icon he'd become to the gay community over the years. I'll take all the fans I can get.

Crooked Arrows is now playing, click here for more info.