Donnie Wahlberg Spooked By Robert De Niro In Softball Game 9/4/08

New Kids On The Block star Donnie Wahlberg lost his nerve during a recent softball game - when he found himself pitching to Robert De Niro.

The actor's softball skills were called upon for a scene in new movie Righteous Kill, but he just couldn't drill a pitch at his idol - in case he hit him.

Wahlberg tells WENN, "(The director) Jon Avnet told me I'm gonna be pitching in the softball game. I said, 'Yeah, no problem.' He said, 'Donnie, you better be able to throw strikes in that softball game.' I said, 'Don't worry, I'll throw strikes.'

"But when it's actually time to pitch, Robert De Niro steps into the batter's box and it's no big deal, but, when they said 'action,' at that moment it occurred to me that if this pitch is inside I'm gonna hit Robert De Niro! And that's gonna be a problem. But if it's outside I'm gonna have Jon Avnet screaming at me in front of the whole crew.

"I got nervous in that moment. I felt like a baseball pitcher trying to throw the last strike at the World Series. I had to go with protecting Bob (De Niro), so I threw the pitch about six feet outside the box.

"Before the ball had even landed in (co-star) John Leguizamo's glove, I heard Avnet screaming over the megaphone, 'Donnie you idiot, I told you to throw a strike? Why didn't you throw a strike?'

"What are you gonna do? I'd rather have Jon yell at me than hit Bob De Niro in the head."