Top 8 Celebrity Athletes that Appeared in Cinema

Some athletes have been able to user their start power to make the transition from their sport to Cinema. The athletes on this list portrayed in roles that were similar to themselves in order to make their transition smoother. A few from this list have been able to branch out of their athletic persona and create a new one. Some were more known as an actor then they were as an athlete. The first athlete on this list was Dick Butkus.

Dick Butkus: Dick Butkus was a linebacker (LB) for The Chicago Bears (1965-1973). As an LB, Butkus recorded 1,020 tackles with 489 assists (sacks where not counted until 1982) (DickButkus.com). Butkus also had 22 interceptions for 166 yards (Dick Butkus.com). Butkus also had a reputation for being one of the toughest, meanest, and hard hitting players in the game. In 1979, Butkus was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Once his football career was concluded, Butkus participated in various films. But the one film that he did very well in was Hamburger: The Motion Picture (1986). Hamburger was about a misfit (Russell) who must earn a college degree from a credited university in order to inherit his uncle's trust fund. After being kicked out of university after university, Russell learned that he could earn a degree from Buster Burger University. However, Buster Burger University was not the pleasure cruise that he was expecting. In Hamburger, Butkus played the role of Drill Sergeant Drootin who was Russell's antagonist when Russell stepped foot onto Buster Burger University Campus. Much like Butkus, Drootin was a no nonsense character who expected perfection and discipline. Drootin intimidated anyone who dared to oppose his authority. The reason why I selected Hamburger: The Motion Picture was that Butkus's personality was a perfect fit for the Drootin character. Hamburger: The Motion Picture was not a blockbuster success, but it was a stepping stone for Butkus to embark on a career as a television actor. His most notable credits were My Two Dads and MacGyver. The next athlete on this list was Alex Karras.

Alex Karras: Alex Karras was a defensive tackle (DT) for The Detroit Lions (1958-1962 and 1964-1970). During his career with the Lions, Karras was a four time pro bowler (1960-1962, 1965). In 161 games, Karras had 4 interceptions, 16 fumble recoveries, and 145 tackles (AlexKarras NFL & AFL Statistics.Pro-Football-Reference.com). In 1991, Karras was inducted into the College Football Hall Of Fame. In 1957, Karras won the Outland Trophy in 1957. However, Karras was involved in a gambling scandal with Paul Horning. This scandal has kept Karras from being inducted into the Pro Football Hall Of Fame. The film Blazing Saddles (1974) was Karras's most notable performance. Blazing Saddles was about a greedy politician (Hedley Lemar) wants his railroad to go through the little town of Rock Ridge. When his plan to send hired thugs fails, the Rock Ridge demands a new sheriff. Lemar appoints a black sheriff (Bart) in hopes for the people to either leave or lynch him. Will Bart win of the people of Rock Ridge and save their town? (John Vogel). In Blazing Saddles, Karras played Mongo a strong but not too bright Thug. Mongo first appeared in the campfire scene when the character, Lyle suggested that they send Mongo to remove the Sheriff of Rock Ridge. After Blazing Saddles, Karras went into television. His was best known for the foster father in the series Webster. The next athlete on this list was Jim Brown.

Jim Brown: Jim Brown was a Running Back for The Cleveland Browns. Brown was the first player to reach 106 Rushing Touch Downs and 20 receiving Touch Downs before the age of 29. By the time Jim Brown retired, he totaled 126 total Touch Downs (Hall of Famers >> Jim Brown. profootballhof.com). This record stood for years until Jerry Rice broke the record in 1994 (Jerry Rice has 208 total Touch Downs). After football, Jim decided to purse and acting career. One of his most notable performances was in the movie Any Given Sunday (1999). Any Given Sunday, was about how a once great team, The Miami Sharks, struggled as they limped into the playoffs. The head coach, Tony Dmato must deal with a meddling owner (Christina Pagniacci) as well as the game's transition to more youthful players and coaches. In Any Given Sunday, Brown played the role of Montezuma Monroe a Defensive Coordinator for The Miami Sharks. Monroe was Dmato's confidant and loyal friend. Brown played this role well because it mirrored his own personality. Like Brown, Monroe did not put up with a lot of nonsense. Monroe expected his players to perform at their best even if they were winning or losing. We first see Montezuma Monroe at the very beginning of the film as the Sharks played another fictional team, The Minnesota Americans. The opposing coach of The Minnesota Americans was played by Bob St. Clair of The San Francisco 49ers. Even basketball players had a small taste of Hollywood. One player was Shaquille O'Neill.

Shaquille O'Neil: Shaquille O'Neill (Shaq) was a basketball player for The Orlando Magic, Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, and Los Angles Lakers. Shaq is currently with The Cleveland Cavilers. During his time with the Lakers, Shaq won three consecutive NBA Titles (Shaquille O'Neill Wikipedia.com). Also, Shaq was on the 1996 Olympic Basketball Team where he also won a Gold Medal. My favorite Shaq movie was the basketball movie, Blue Chips (1994). Blue Chips, was about a basketball coach, Pete Bell (Nick Nolte), and was trying to rebuild his floundering program while he maintained his ethics. In other words, he was not going to cheat. But Bell eventually gave into buying players. Eventually, he resigned because he could not live with himself for destroying his ethics. Shaq played the role of Neon. We first see Neon playing basketball in an underground court. Shaq's performance suited him well because he could draw on his strengths as a basketball player. There was a scene when he was working with Mary McDonald as he prepared for the SAT's. There was another scene where he argued with a history teacher which he was decent at. His best performance was when he was playing basketball. Shaq's acting skills are adequate. The next athlete was Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was known as the professional wrestler, "The Rock". But to my surprise was that he did participate in a team sport, that sport was college football. Before Dwayne became a superstar in professional wrestling, he had a dream of being a professional football player. First, Dwayne was a defensive lineman for the Miami Hurricanes. Dwayne was also a member of the Miami Hurricanes 1991 National Championship Team. After Miami, Dwayne had dreams of turning pro until an "injury sidelined his gridiron aspirations" (The Rock, Dwayne Johnson.com). Once Dwayne realized that his football career was over, he decided to pursue a career as a professional wrestler and the rest is history. One of my favorite Dwayne Johnson films was The Game Plan (2007). The Game Plan was about the Quarterback (QB), Joe Kingman a superstar for the fictional team, The Boston Rebels. As Kingman prepares for the upcoming season, Kingman learned that he had an eight year old daughter, Payton Kelly. Kingman was forced to give up his bachelor life and become a parent which was not something Kingman wanted to do. But as the film progressed, he learned that having Payton in his life made him a better person. Instead of being a one man show, he learned the concept of being a team player and allowed other players share in his glory. Kingman was the main character in this film's protagonist. We see Kingman throughout the film. Our next actor also had his football career cut short as well. This actor is John Wayne.

John Wayne: John Wayne was an accomplished athlete while attending Glendale High School that he was awarded a football scholarship to the University Southern California (USC). John Wayne played football until a surfboarding accident ended his playing career (JohnWayne.com). Afterwards, John looked towards Hollywood for work. After landing a part in the film The Big Trail, John's acting career took off. John's best role was in the movie, True Grit (1969). True Grit was about a young girl named Mattie Ross who looked to administer her own justice after the death of her father. She employs the aid of Marshal "Rooster" Cogburn to aid her because his "grit" and persistence (Plot Summary for True Grit imdb.com). John plays the role of Marshal Cogburn. His character was introduced when Mattie first arrived at Fort Smith (True Grit Wikipedia.com). John's performance in this film won him an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for best Actor in 1969 (True Grit Wikipedia.com). Our next athlete turned actor was Terry Bradshaw.

Terry Bradshaw: Terry Bradshaw was a QB for the Pittsburgh Steelers (1970-1983). Bradshaw led the Steelers to 4 Superbowls within a six year time period during the 1970's. In Superbowl's XIII and XIV, Bradshaw won Most Valuable Player Awards (MVP). In 1989, Bradshaw was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Once his career as a QB was over, he became a successful broadcaster as well as an entrepreneur (Terry Bradshaw Wikipedia.com). Like many athletes before him, Bradshaw tried his hand at acting. He appeared in the films Hooper (1978), Smokey and the Bandit II (1980), The Cannonball Run (1981) to name a few. Bradshaw was also in The Adventures of Brisco Count Jr. (1994) as well as the short lived sitcom The Jeff Foxworthy Show. But his best performance was in the film Failure to Launch (2006). Failure to Launch was about 35 year old, Tripp, who still lived with his parents, Al and Sue. Fed up with the situation, Al and Sue hire an interventionist named Paula who would convince Tripp to move out. But when Tripp learned of Paula's deception, he breaks up with her. When Tripp realized that he missed Paula, his friends help Tripp to get her back (Claudio Carvalho). Bradshaw played the role of Al. Al first appeared when he walked into Tripp's room when he was with another woman. Our final athlete turned actor was Reggie Jackson.

Reggie Jackson: Reggie Jackson was an outstanding baseball player for the Oakland A's and The New York Yankees. Jackson was known as "Mr. October" because of his "great world series status" (Reggie Jackson Mini Biography). In baseball, Jackson won 3 World Championships with The Oakland A's, had 563 homeruns (including 3 during the 1977 World Series) and had a career high of 47 home runs in the 1969. In New York, Jackson helped the Yankees win 2 more World Championships. At Arizona State University (ASU), Jackson had a football scholarship and played for legendary coach, Frank Kush. Jackson was a walk on for ASU's baseball team. Jackson was also inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1993. Although Jackson was not in many films, he did get a taste small taste of Hollywood.

The Movie that Reggie Jackson was in was The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad (1988). The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad, was about a clumsy police officer (Lt. Frank Drebin) who uncovered a plot to kill Queen Elizabeth while attempting to clear his good friend (Nordberg) from an alleged drug charge. In The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad, Reggie Jackson played a brainwashed baseball player who attempts to assassinate Queen Elizabeth. This action occurred towards the end of the film.

To summarize, these athletes have learned that their athletic career would eventually come to an end. They chose to pursue an acting career because their fame as an athlete would help them get their foot in the door. Some athletes may follow in their footsteps. Some may not, but only time will tell.

Works Cited

Movies:

Any Given Sunday. Dir. Oliver Stone. Perf. Al Pacino, Cameron Diaz, James Woods, Dennis Quaid, James Woods. Warner Brothers, 1999.

Blazing Saddles. Dir. Mel Brooks. Perf. Mel Brooks, Cleavon Little, Harvey Korman, Slim Pickens, Madeline Kahn. Warner Brothers, 1974.

Blue Chips. Dir. William Friedkin. Perf. Nick Nolte, Shaquille O'Neal. Paramount Pictures, 1994.

Failure to Launch. Dir. Tom Dey. Per. Matthew McConaughey, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Bates, Zooey Deschanel, Justin Bartha, Bradley Cooper, Terry Bradshaw. Paramount Pictures, 2006.
Hamburger: The Motion Picture. Dir. Mike Marvin. Perf. Leigh McCloskey, Dick Butkus, Randi Brooks, Chuck McCann. Feldman/Meeker, 1986.

The Game Plan. Dir. Andy Fickman. Perf. Dwayne Johnson, Madison Pettis, Kyra Sedgwick, Morris Chestnut, Roselyn Sánchez, Paige Turco, Hayes MacArthur, Brian J. White. Walt Disney Pictures, 2007.

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad. Dir David Zucker. Perf. Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, O.J. Simpson, Reggie Jackson, George Kennedy, Ed Williams. Paramount Pictures, 1988.

True Grit. Dir. Henry Hathaway. Perf. John Wayne, Glen Campbell, Kim Darby. Paramount Pcitures, 1969.

Websites:

Alex Karras NFL & AFL Football Statistics. Pro-Football-Reference.com.

Claudio Carvalho. Failure To Launch Plot Summary. Imdb.com.

Dick Butkus Stats. DickButkus.com.

Hall of Famers >> Jim Brown. profootballhof.com.

John Wayne Biography. JohnWayne.com.

John Vogal. Blazing Saddles Plot Summary. Imdb.com.

Mini Biography of Reggie Jackson. Imdb.com.

Police Squad Plot Summary. Imdb.com.

Shaquille O'Neill. Wikipedia.com.

The Rock, Dwayne Johnson Website, Early Life. westlord.com/dwayne-johnson.

Terry Bradshaw. Wikipedia.com.

Tue Grit. Wikipedia.com.