How do I add filters to this ball using as?

1

two questions,

  1. I drew a blue ball using actionscript, and I was wondering what other kind filters I could use to make it look more realistic. I tried using the help files, but I always ran into problems on the output. I know I have to add a gradientfilter but i just cant get it to work
package {
	import flash.display.MovieClip;
	
	public class BallBlue extends MovieClip {
		public var radius:Number;
		private var color:uint;
		public var vx:Number = 0;
		public var vy:Number = 0;
		
		
		public function BallBlue(radius:Number=30, color:uint=0x0000ff) {
			this.radius = radius;
			this.color = color;
			init();
		}

		public function init():void {
			graphics.beginFill(color);
			graphics.drawCircle(0, 0, radius);
			graphics.endFill();
		}
	}
}
  1. Is it possible that I can call a movieclip from my stage using a Actionscript file? such as, I create a 3dish ball name it ballMC. Can I put that into the code above, instead of using the graphics.drawCircle?

thanks!