Warren Sapp is on fire, cracking up the boom operators and grips in the Lakers' old locker room in The Forum. You can call it method acting. The 29-year-old Buc is tweaking his funny bone for a commercial shoot for SEGA Sports' new video game NFL 2K3.

Sapp on baseball's steroid problems: "Half the league's on steroids because they don't test, and then they make obligatory statements on how bad it is, but we know they still ain't gonna test." Sapp on his new dread-free pate: "I shaved it January 18 for no reason in particular, so now I've got to change my helmets to adjust for my head." Sapp on nailing his lines today: "I've done more than enough commercials, but if you ask my wife she'll say it's not enough because she always points to the TV and says, 'Why aren't you in that one?'"

But giggles aside, this is business -- and Krista Montagna, the commercial's producer, is too concerned with the shoot to be much amused. "I know we're having fun here," she says. "But please, this is a hot set." The crew scatters. Sapp is impressed. "Damn! Guess I don't have to ask who's in charge here. She says, 'Move,' and people move."

A few minutes later, the 6'2", 303-pound defensive tackle is doing faux 135-pound curls on a plastic barbell set. "Had to change the script from lat pull-downs," he says, "I had surgery done and haven't been able to do that for a couple years." After slightly screwing up just one line and chiding himself ("You dummy, you sounded robotic on that one") he hits his trailer for a snooze and makes room for the day's next DE/actor, Jevon Kearse.

The 6'4", 265-pound Titan makes his way to the set, glad-handing the crew. "My hand is a foot -- 12 inches from thumb to pinky. Some of the guys who shook my hand ended up grabbing my wrist." Kearse takes his place in a recreated restroom, stares in the mirror and screams for six seconds. "He's got some pipes," says SEGA ad rep Terry Higgins, watching on a nearby TV monitor. But co-director Will Speck isn't totally satisfied: "That look was funny, but take a beat next time. And then on your staredown, be meaner." The Titan knows meaner. He tries it again, this time so fierce the crew cracks up. "I hit it, right?" Kearse asks. Co-director Josh Gordon smiles. "Got it."

His part done, Kearse heads to the catering table. He picks up a chicken wing and accidentally spills some sauce on the drawstring-area of his clean white tights. "You did that on purpose to make me clean it," jokes the makeup artist. Kearse just smiles and heads back to his trailer to eat real lunch (filet mignon from the catering truck outside) and to change into his civilian duds.

On the way out he makes sure to say goodbye to every crew member. Walking off the set he turns for a final look. "Thanks for everything. Tell Warren I said 'Bye.'" "He came back and said, 'Bye, guys.' How cool is that?" SEGA senior product manager Stacey Kerr says. The ballers made an impression on the co-directors too. "We kept waiting for an ego meltdown, but it didn't happen," says Speck. Gordon agrees. "They're better actors than others we've worked with." Speck nods and rolls his eyes. "Yeah, we worked with some golfers. Now that was painful."

Darryl Howerton is a frequent contributor to ESPN The Magazine.