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Athletes turned movie stars - We all know that the world of sport is full of great talent and that records are constantly getting broken. However, what many people might not know is that some of Hollywood's biggest stars have emerged after they've achieved success in sports. Although some athletes abandoned their career to dedicate themselves to acting, some others have only played small roles in movies and series. Click and get to know the stars!
© All Rights Reserved /
0 / 30 Fotos
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - Regarded by many as one of the best NBA players of all time, Kareem made his acting debut in 'The Last Fight of Bruce Lee' (1978).
© All Rights Reserved / Paramount Pictures
1 / 30 Fotos
Vinnie Jones - Now a popular actor, Jones was once a professional soccer player who even played for the Walsh national team.
© All Rights Reserved / The CW
2 / 30 Fotos
Jason Statham - Today he's one of the most sought after action stars, but before he started in the movie business Statham was a professional athlete and represented England in diving competitions.
© All Rights Reserved / Lionsgate UK
3 / 30 Fotos
Jean-Claude Van Damme - Van Damme was a member of the Belgian karate team who won the European Championships in 1979.
© All Rights Reserved / The Cannon Group
4 / 30 Fotos
Burt Reynolds - Reynolds got a scholarship to attend Florida State University because of his talent for football. However, after a serious injury and later an accident, his dreams of making a career in sports were crushed.
© All Rights Reserved / New Line Cinema
5 / 30 Fotos
Carl Weathers - Before becoming an actor, Weather played professional football for the Oakland Raiders and the B.C. Lions.
© All Rights Reserved / NBC
6 / 30 Fotos
Arnold Schwarzenegger - Before investing in his acting career, Schwarzenegger won the title of 'Mr. Olympia' seven times.
© All Rights Reserved / Universal Pictures
7 / 30 Fotos
Nnamdi Asomugha - The actor played football professionally, between 2003 and 2013.
© All Rights Reserved / Amazon Studios
8 / 30 Fotos
Bruce Lee - He's considered by many to be one of the greatest icons of martial arts and pop culture, Lee was a Jun Fan Gung Fu master, which is a sort of an adaptation of Wing Chun.
© All Rights Reserved / Warner Bros.
9 / 30 Fotos
Shaquille O'Neal - He's one of the best basketball players ever. In 1994 he made his debut as an actor and since then he's starred in movies and also made small appearances.
© All Rights Reserved / Sony Pictures Releasing
10 / 30 Fotos
Dave Bautista - He was a professional wrestler for many years and made his acting debut with small movie appearances. Nowadays he gets important roles in big movies.
© All Rights Reserved / Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
11 / 30 Fotos
Gina Carano - Before beginning her acting career, the actress was a professional MMA fighter.
© All Rights Reserved / Relativity Media
12 / 30 Fotos
O. J. Simpson - A former professional football player who was considered one of the best of his time. He played roles in several movies before becoming involved in various scandals.
© All Rights Reserved / Houtsnede Maatschappij N.V.
13 / 30 Fotos
Jason Lee - Before becoming an actor, Lee was a professional skateboarder.
© All Rights Reserved / NBC
14 / 30 Fotos
Mark Harmon - Whilst at university, Harmon played football for UCLA Bruins.
© All Rights Reserved / CBS
15 / 30 Fotos
Dolph Lundgren - In 1980/81, the actor was Kyokushin Karate European champion.
© All Rights Reserved / MGM/UA Entertainment Company
16 / 30 Fotos
Michael Jordan - Considered by many to be the best basketball player ever, he starred in the movie 'Space Jam' (1996) as himself.
© All Rights Reserved / Warner Bros. Family Entertainment
17 / 30 Fotos
Brian Bosworth - Before making his start in the acting world, Bosworth was a professional football player.
© All Rights Reserved / Columbia Pictures
18 / 30 Fotos
Randy Coutoure - Coutoure is considered one of the best MMA fighters in history. He has made several appearances in action movies.
© All Rights Reserved / Lionsgate
19 / 30 Fotos
Terry Crews - He was a professional football player, though nowadays the popular actor is known for his comedic roles.
© All Rights Reserved / Lionsgate
20 / 30 Fotos
Ronda Rousey - She was an Olympic judo champion in 2008 and then became one of the best MMA fighters ever.
© All Rights Reserved / Lionsgate
21 / 30 Fotos
John Matuszak - The actor, who died in 1989, was a professional football player.
© All Rights Reserved / Warner Bros.
22 / 30 Fotos
Mike Tyson - A former professional boxer, he won the world champion title in the heavyweight category. He has played small roles in movies and TV shows where he usually plays himself.
© All Rights Reserved / Warner Bros. Pictures
23 / 30 Fotos
Lou Ferrigno - He participated in several bodybuilding competitions, having won two consecutive IFBB Mr. Universe titles. He found fame playing the role of Hulk in the series 'The Incredible Hulk'.
© All Rights Reserved / CBS
24 / 30 Fotos
John Cena - He's one of the most popular professional wrestlers today and occasionally plays lead roles in action movies.
© All Rights Reserved / 20th Century Fox
25 / 30 Fotos
Steve Austin - For many years, Austin was a professional wrestler.
© All Rights Reserved / Anchor Bay Films
26 / 30 Fotos
André the Giant - The actor died in 1993. Before embarking on his career as an actor, André was a professional wrestler.
© All Rights Reserved / 20th Century Fox
27 / 30 Fotos
Dwayne Johnson - The former professional wrestler is currently one of Hollywood's most sought after actors.
© All Rights Reserved / Universal Pictures
28 / 30 Fotos
LeBron James - He's considered by many as one of the best basketball players of all time. He's played small roles in a few different movies.
© All Rights Reserved / Universal Pictures
29 / 30 Fotos
Athletes turned movie stars - We all know that the world of sport is full of great talent and that records are constantly getting broken. However, what many people might not know is that some of Hollywood's biggest stars have emerged after they've achieved success in sports. Although some athletes abandoned their career to dedicate themselves to acting, some others have only played small roles in movies and series. Click and get to know the stars!
© All Rights Reserved /
0 / 30 Fotos
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - Regarded by many as one of the best NBA players of all time, Kareem made his acting debut in 'The Last Fight of Bruce Lee' (1978).
© All Rights Reserved / Paramount Pictures
1 / 30 Fotos
Vinnie Jones - Now a popular actor, Jones was once a professional soccer player who even played for the Walsh national team.
© All Rights Reserved / The CW
2 / 30 Fotos
Jason Statham - Today he's one of the most sought after action stars, but before he started in the movie business Statham was a professional athlete and represented England in diving competitions.
© All Rights Reserved / Lionsgate UK
3 / 30 Fotos
Jean-Claude Van Damme - Van Damme was a member of the Belgian karate team who won the European Championships in 1979.
© All Rights Reserved / The Cannon Group
4 / 30 Fotos
Burt Reynolds - Reynolds got a scholarship to attend Florida State University because of his talent for football. However, after a serious injury and later an accident, his dreams of making a career in sports were crushed.
© All Rights Reserved / New Line Cinema
5 / 30 Fotos
Carl Weathers - Before becoming an actor, Weather played professional football for the Oakland Raiders and the B.C. Lions.
© All Rights Reserved / NBC
6 / 30 Fotos
Arnold Schwarzenegger - Before investing in his acting career, Schwarzenegger won the title of 'Mr. Olympia' seven times.
© All Rights Reserved / Universal Pictures
7 / 30 Fotos
Nnamdi Asomugha - The actor played football professionally, between 2003 and 2013.
© All Rights Reserved / Amazon Studios
8 / 30 Fotos
Bruce Lee - He's considered by many to be one of the greatest icons of martial arts and pop culture, Lee was a Jun Fan Gung Fu master, which is a sort of an adaptation of Wing Chun.
© All Rights Reserved / Warner Bros.
9 / 30 Fotos
Shaquille O'Neal - He's one of the best basketball players ever. In 1994 he made his debut as an actor and since then he's starred in movies and also made small appearances.
© All Rights Reserved / Sony Pictures Releasing
10 / 30 Fotos
Dave Bautista - He was a professional wrestler for many years and made his acting debut with small movie appearances. Nowadays he gets important roles in big movies.
© All Rights Reserved / Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
11 / 30 Fotos
Gina Carano - Before beginning her acting career, the actress was a professional MMA fighter.
© All Rights Reserved / Relativity Media
12 / 30 Fotos
O. J. Simpson - A former professional football player who was considered one of the best of his time. He played roles in several movies before becoming involved in various scandals.
© All Rights Reserved / Houtsnede Maatschappij N.V.
13 / 30 Fotos
Jason Lee - Before becoming an actor, Lee was a professional skateboarder.
© All Rights Reserved / NBC
14 / 30 Fotos
Mark Harmon - Whilst at university, Harmon played football for UCLA Bruins.
© All Rights Reserved / CBS
15 / 30 Fotos
Dolph Lundgren - In 1980/81, the actor was Kyokushin Karate European champion.
© All Rights Reserved / MGM/UA Entertainment Company
16 / 30 Fotos
Michael Jordan - Considered by many to be the best basketball player ever, he starred in the movie 'Space Jam' (1996) as himself.
© All Rights Reserved / Warner Bros. Family Entertainment
17 / 30 Fotos
Brian Bosworth - Before making his start in the acting world, Bosworth was a professional football player.
© All Rights Reserved / Columbia Pictures
18 / 30 Fotos
Randy Coutoure - Coutoure is considered one of the best MMA fighters in history. He has made several appearances in action movies.
© All Rights Reserved / Lionsgate
19 / 30 Fotos
Terry Crews - He was a professional football player, though nowadays the popular actor is known for his comedic roles.
© All Rights Reserved / Lionsgate
20 / 30 Fotos
Ronda Rousey - She was an Olympic judo champion in 2008 and then became one of the best MMA fighters ever.
© All Rights Reserved / Lionsgate
21 / 30 Fotos
John Matuszak - The actor, who died in 1989, was a professional football player.
© All Rights Reserved / Warner Bros.
22 / 30 Fotos
Mike Tyson - A former professional boxer, he won the world champion title in the heavyweight category. He has played small roles in movies and TV shows where he usually plays himself.
© All Rights Reserved / Warner Bros. Pictures
23 / 30 Fotos
Lou Ferrigno - He participated in several bodybuilding competitions, having won two consecutive IFBB Mr. Universe titles. He found fame playing the role of Hulk in the series 'The Incredible Hulk'.
© All Rights Reserved / CBS
24 / 30 Fotos
John Cena - He's one of the most popular professional wrestlers today and occasionally plays lead roles in action movies.
© All Rights Reserved / 20th Century Fox
25 / 30 Fotos
Steve Austin - For many years, Austin was a professional wrestler.
© All Rights Reserved / Anchor Bay Films
26 / 30 Fotos
André the Giant - The actor died in 1993. Before embarking on his career as an actor, André was a professional wrestler.
© All Rights Reserved / 20th Century Fox
27 / 30 Fotos
Dwayne Johnson - The former professional wrestler is currently one of Hollywood's most sought after actors.
© All Rights Reserved / Universal Pictures
28 / 30 Fotos
LeBron James - He's considered by many as one of the best basketball players of all time. He's played small roles in a few different movies.
© All Rights Reserved / Universal Pictures
29 / 30 Fotos
Athletes turned movie stars
Many stars found success in sports before starting their acting careers. Check it out!
© Francisco Hoffmann
To be successful in two different careers seems like an easy task for these people. Some made it big in sports before venturing into the world of acting.
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