The actor talks with ET about his NBA betting scandal film, 'Inside Game,' which is available via digital release Tuesday.
Scott Wolf is counting his blessings.
The Nancy Drew star opened up about how he is spending his days in self-quarantine with his wife of 16 years, Kelley, and their three young children amid the coronavirus outbreak.
"I'm incredibly lucky. I'm at home with my family and we're all healthy and we've got everything we need in terms of food and a roof over our heads. So big picture, we're doing great, but it's a lot," the 51-year-old actor, who was promoting the VOD release of his recent film, Inside Game, told ET over the phone on Monday, while building a fort with his kids.
Wolf, who was in the middle of production on the first season of Nancy Drew before it was shut down last month, shared that he and his wife are juggling their own daily routines, while also home-schooling their kids, who are 11, 7 and 5.
"We're just taking that day by day and the schools have been pretty great about supplying work for them to do. But we're not being too terribly strict about it. Our priority is just making sure everybody feels safe and calm. And it's a weird moment. Even the littlest kid can tell that something's really weird," Wolf said.
"We took a bike ride the other day and we rode by this apartment building, and there were a bunch of kids playing with each other. Our kids haven't been able to see their friends because they're FaceTiming and seeing them online. As we rode by, my 5-year-old-daughter, Lucy, said, 'Dad, that was weird. Those kids were right next to each other,'" he said. "It was kind of a remarkable moment because literally two weeks ago she had never experienced anything like this. And in a matter of days she's already recognizing that two kids standing near each other in real life is different."
Wolf says he and Limp, a life coach, have been "tag-teaming" duties with the kids, but also making sure they're getting their own needs met, whether that be exercise, taking walks or having alone time. And like many of us, they're keeping themselves busy by binge-watching television shows they wouldn't otherwise have time for; Ozark, Succession and Tiger King are currently on their must list, while Wolf recently caught up on his own show, Nancy Drew.
"My wife and I, we just really like each other a lot and that means the world in moments like this. And we're being pretty good about tag-teaming with each other and making sure that not only are the kids getting what they need but that we're getting what we need," he said. "My wife and I are being pretty good about making sure that both of us feel like we're getting enough of that. I think that's the key because no matter how much you like the people you're self-isolated with, it can start to feel like Groundhog Day in a hurry."
Wolf's latest project, Inside Game, tells the story of the 2007 NBA betting scandal, which is considered one of the biggest in modern sports history. The movie, which is available on Video On Demand and digitally on Tuesday, follows small-time drug dealer Tommy Martino (Wolf), one of the co-conspirators in the infamous scandal, along with childhood friends Tim Donaghy (Eric Mabius), a NBA referee, and Baba Battista (Will Sasso), a bookie. Using Tim's connections to refs, coaches, players and owners, the trio bet on professional NBA games. Of course, all hell breaks loose when the FBI catches wind of their illegal operation.
"I was familiar with the story just as a basketball fan and a sports fan. But I didn't know much of the details behind it," Wolf said. It was one of his closest friends, director Randall Batinkoff, who suggested he play the role of Tommy. Wolf recalled being "completely bowled over" by the script. "There were elements of this story that just being a sports fan I was aware of but I had no idea about the guys that were involved and how the whole thing took shape and how the whole thing ultimately fell apart."
"[Randall] knew that this guy, Tommy Martino, was a huge part of kind of who I am energetically. And what was amazing about it was when he called, he said, 'Look, I'm probably the only director in town who knows how perfect you are to play this part,'" Wolf said. "And I lucked out that he was in the position he was in and gave me the chance to play this guy."
"It was definitely the type of role that I haven't really had a chance to play before," added Wolf, who often plays men of a certain kind -- straight-laced rule followers, sometimes with secrets lying in wait. "With Inside Game, there was a chance to play a guy who had an absolutely different code of ethics. He had just an entirely different morality. And the fun of playing a guy like that is he believes in that morality. It was fun to play a guy whose code of ethics was way out of bounds from how I live my life or how a lot of other people might seem to live theirs. But ultimately, he was, at his core, a guy who believed in friendship, loyalty and honor. And those things look a lot different in Tommy's world."
Wolf revealed why he was intrigued by the story, likening it to a classic Shakespearean tragedy.
"Even though it was a dark tale in that [these three guys are] defrauding a giant athletic league, there was something aspirational about it," he shared. "There was something about these three guys, I don't know, having a chance to come together and be part of something that was bigger than any of them were on their own. There was something about that sense of friendship and adventure and loyalty that really drew me in more than anything."
Inside Game is available on Video On Demand and digital release Tuesday.
To stay up to date on breaking news, sign up for ET's daily newsletter.
RELATED CONTENT:
