Matthew Reine
Athletes seemingly don’t know much outside their respective professions. Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose blaze arenas in the NBA but you wouldn’t count on them to give Oscar caliber performances on film. Eli Manning and Tim Tebow are two of the most talked about football players but would they excel in the cinema world? The truth is we don’t know but you would imagine a lot of these superstars’ natural charisma would allow them to give convincing performances. Still, professional athletes aren’t usually the first people you think of when reviewing your options on what films to watch on a Saturday night or what performances will win accolades during award season. Many have tried over the years and some have had success so let’s take a look at a few of them now.
Kareem-Abdul Jabbar helped pave the way for not only basketball stars but athletes in general to gain credibility on the big screen. The storied Los Angeles Laker had two memorable roles. First as the villain in the 1978 action film “Game of Death” starring martial arts icon Bruce Lee where he gave the fabled fighter a brutal beating that shocked audiences everywhere. The other was the role as Murdock the pilot in the 1980 spoof classic “Airplane!” alongside Leslie Nielsen which showcased his excellent comedic timing.
Jabbar isn’t the only NBA star that has ventured into acting, Famed NBA giant, Shaquille O’Neal, starred in a number of films throughout his basketball career. Diesel left critics impressed portraying a (shocker) sought-after college hoops star in 1994’s “Blue Chips” but Shaq set out to prove he wasn’t just some big guy dribbling a ball. Using his imposing seven foot stature, Shaq was easily seen as a larger than life character which led him to play a hero in films such as “Steel” and “Kazam”, both of which were heavily panned by critics. More recently, Shaq has stuck to smaller roles playing up his true to life fun loving personality as seen in “Scary Movie 4” and “Grown Ups 2”.
Controversial figure Dennis Rodman turned heads throughout his tenure with the Chicago Bulls in the 90’s with his incomparable defensive playing, colored hair, and crossdressing. Rodman’s zany personality off the court led to him starring in his own reality show on MTV before starring in a feature film in 1997. The Worm co-starred with on-screen ass kicker Jean-Claude Van Damme in “Double Team” playing an arms dealer. Even though the movie was universally panned, Rodman went on to star in “Simon Sez” two years later in 1999, which also co-starred a young Dane Cook. The film was also quickly dismissed and Rodman’s career on the courts ended not too long after that.
Current Miami Heat star Ray Allen may be winding down on his career but he was tearing up courts throughout the late 90’s as a shooting guard on the Milwaukee Bucks. His talent eventually caught the eye of filmmaker Spike Lee who casted him opposite Denzel Washington in his 1998 film, “He Got Game”. Allen plays Denzel’s estranged son who is optioning several colleges on a basketball scholarship. The picture was met with positive feedback.
Now did you really think I was going to write this entire article and not mention this staple from the 90’s? Two legends of my youth, Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny, teamed up to give us this headtrip known as “Space Jam”. Half live-action and half cartoon, Jordan plays himself, freshly retired from the Chicago Bulls to pursue a career in pro baseball, who is recruited to save the Looney Tunes universe in a deadly game on the animated courts of Tune Land. While it garnered mixed reviews, it made a killing in ticket sales and in merchandising. Oh, and the movie also introduced us to R. Kelly’s “I Believe I Can Fly”. Joy.
Pro wrestling phenomenon, John Cena, attempted to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and crossover into the world of film. Unlike the Rock, Cena doesn’t possess the talent or charisma that would make Hollywood come knocking so instead of finding outside roles, the WWE decided to produce their own pictures and have John star in them. Our first “masterpiece” was 2006’s “The Marine”. There isn’t much to say about this generic action vehicle other than the over-the-top performance by the antagonist played by the underrated Robert Patrick. Reeling from that stellar performance, Cena went on to star in another generic action flick, “12 Rounds” which was directed by Renny Harlan, the man who’s infamous for directing one of the worst financial cinema flops of all time in “Cutthroat Island”. Third time wasn’t exactly a charm for the multi-time WWE world champ when he starred in the amateur wrestling themed drama, “Legendary”. The WWE-produced film actually co-starred some decent names such as Patricia Clarkson and Danny Glover (oh and the daughter from Showtime series,“Californiacation” and the guy who plays young Dexter Morgan in TV’s “Dexter”). Having said that, this is probably Johnny’s best film which isn’t saying a hell of a lot. The Cenation leader is still cranking out generic Walmart $5 bin quality garbage to this day in a struggle to gain recognition outside the wrestling world.
Miami Dolphins hall of famer, Dan Marino, was used as a major plot device in the Jim Carrey comedy “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective”. Carrey plays the titular character who is on the hunt for the culprit behind the kidnapping plot involving the Dolphins star. The film made Carrey a bonafide cinema star and spawned a sequel while it showed the showed the world the hilarious side of Marino.
After dabbling a little in the world of professional wrestling in the mid 90’s, Lawrence Taylor portrayed himself in the Adam Sandler vehicle “The Waterboy” then went on to assume a role more comfortable to him, portraying a crazed football player in the underrated Oliver Stone flick, “Any Given Sunday” in 1999. Trying to shed his image as a NFL jock, the New York Giants legend starred alongside Jean-Claude Van Damme as a violent prisoner in the direct-to-DVD action movie, “In Hell”.
World-renowned boxing prophet, Mike Tyson, has fallen on hard times and faced many obstacles throughout his career. Despite all of this, he still comes off as a good natured guy that likes to poke fun at himself. This trait was perfect for him as he portrays an exaggerated version of himself in the surprise 2009 hit comedy “The Hangover”. Tyson searches for his pet tiger in the film who is held by the gang consisting of actors Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis. He even makes a reference to the rape charges that plagued his life in the early 90’s. Tyson revised his role in the film’s sequel two years later.
