Celebrities Who Became Wannabe Athletes

We all yearn to have a career that doesn't feel like work—to earn a living doing something that we not only have a natural talent for but also love to do. Most people understand that finding a line of "best fit" is more realistic than actually achieving this goal and try to make the most of what is attainable. 

We can't all be Derek Jeter or Keith Richards—the best in the business and what equates to an adolescent fantasy for rest of the world. 

For celebrities, the world is upside down—actors, musicians and other uniquely talented men and women work in industries where money and fame gain them the kind of attention and access most people will never have.

And when a celebrity is a huge sports fan, his or her status often equates to sitting with franchise owners in their luxury box or spending time hobnobbing with their favorite athletes during team activities closed to the public—or even the opportunity to try to be a professional athlete.

Sometimes, doing something just because you can doesn't mean you should, and when a celebrity becomes a wannabe athlete, the results are usually akin to a chef deciding he or she wants to be a heart surgeon.

These are celebrities who turned into wannabe athletes.

Kurt Russell

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According to Biography.com, actor Kurt Russell played two seasons of Double-A baseball in the early '70s well after establishing himself as a young actor. Apparently he wasn’t too bad either, but his career was cut short after he suffered a severe shoulder injury in 1973.

Though he never made it to the majors playing ball, Russell certain made it big in the movies, having gone on to be one of the biggest stars in Hollywood for a while—particularly in the '80s and early '90s.

Will Ferrell

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Comedic gem Will Ferrell is one of the funniest actors of a generation, having risen to prominence on Saturday Night Live in the late '90s. He also happens to be perhaps the single biggest celebrity sports fan out there.

With so many of his movies, such as Talladega Nights, Kicking and Screaming, Semi-Pro and Blades of Glory, being sports-focused, Ferrell’s preference for all things sports has been well-established.

Although he hasn’t ever had the opportunity to play anything professionally, during the 2015 MLB spring training, Ferrell managed to play every position on the field for 10 different teams in a single day. His exhausting yet epic day raised nearly $1 million for charity.

Frankie Muniz

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Former child actor Frankie Muniz became famous for playing the titular character in the Fox sitcom Malcolm in the Middle, which aired seven seasons from 2000-06.

As is often the case for child actors, roles dried up for Muniz as he aged (awkwardly for a while). Instead of waiting around for Hollywood to come calling, Muniz largely walked away, opting to pursue his passion for racing instead.

According to FrankieMunizRacing.com, his four-year career wasn’t particularly successful, and he hasn’t raced in any high-profile events since 2008. In recent years Muniz has tried his hand as a drummer and has recently been landing acting jobs again.

Matt Damon

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Actor Matt Damon played a card shark in the poker-themed movie Rounders, which was released in 1998, so it’s not much of a stretch to assume he picked up some tricks of the trade during filming. And his longtime Boston BFF, Ben Affleck, is actually so good at counting cards in blackjack that in 2014 two different casinos booted him out for it.

Given that, one would think Damon could hold his own—or at least not embarrass himself—at a poker table against other celebrities. But one would be wrong. Damon doesn’t gamble for real like Affleck is known to, but he’s participated in more than a few celebrity games over the years, including this absolute disaster in the 2009 World Series of Poker.

In what was quite possibly the worst acting performance of his career, Damon absolutely choked with the best hand at the table. He hasn't been seen much at the poker table in recent years. In fact, it's quite possible that was the last game he ever played. As well it should've been.

Bill Murray

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Comedy icon and certified national treasure Bill Murray got his start in comedy in the early '70s as a member of the famed improvisational troupe Second City in Chicago. He soon caught the attention of the legendary John Belushi, who brought him on The National Lampoon Radio Hour as a regular in 1974.

Two years later, Murray landed the role of a lifetime, replacing Chevy Chase in Saturday Night Live. Despite having a career on the rise, with film projects already in the works, in 1978 Murray spent five weeks that summer playing ball for the Gray Harbor Loggers in Aberdeen, Washington. (Here are his stats.)

Murray is a well-known lifelong baseball fan who, as HardballTalk's Craig Calcaterra wrote, is the “co-owner of a couple of minor league teams and it’s not a passive investment. He shows up to games and does stuff.” Actual stuff! Though he has wisely stuck to acting since then, Murray’s enthusiasm for the game has never waned.

Nelly

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A three-sport (basketball, baseball and football) star in high school, rapper Nelly probably could have had a professional baseball career had the hip-hop lifestyle not been so damn enticing. According to Biography.com's Tim Ott, Nelly “was named MVP of the St. Louis Amateur Baseball Association All-Star Game in 1992, and later attended training camps for the Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates.”

Ultimately he picked singing over swinging, and although he told Page 2's Mike Philbrick he has no regrets, he’s also said he has often wondered what could’ve been. Nelly is often spotted courtside at NBA games and has participated in a number of celebrity athletic competitions over the years.

Patrick Dempsey

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Actor Patrick Dempsey got his start as an unlikely '80s heartthrob in movies such as Can’t Buy Me Love and Loverboy. But he fell largely off the map until the mid-'90s, when he landed a leading role on the hit ABC drama Grey’s Anatomy playing Dr. Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd.

Despite his Hollywood success, Dempsey had long been harboring dreams of being a professional race car driver. According to his official website, Dempsey has been racing professionally “for nearly 10 years,” most notably competing in the world-famous 24 Hours of Le Mans race in 2014.

Until recently, racing was reserved as Dempsey’s passion project, but he walked away from Grey’s Anatomy to focus on it full time. He walked away from $10 million, devastating millions of dedicated Derek lovers in the process.  

Lucas Black

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Known for roles in films such as The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Jarhead, Sling Blade and All the Pretty Horses, in 2013 actor Lucas Black turned pro on the NGA Pro Golf Tour.

Though he still works regularly as an actor, Black has carved out more and more time in recent years to focus on golf.

Mickey Rourke

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In one of the more curious decisions ever made by an actor, in 1991 star-on-the-rise Mickey Rourke decided to embark on a career as a professional boxer, something he’d been doing at amateur levels since the early '70s. As one of the biggest stars in Hollywood at that point—he really hit it big in the '80s— many questioned Rourke’s sudden career move.

Though apparently he wasn’t too bad, the injuries he suffered over time led to numerous facial surgeries. Once considered a heartthrob, acting roles are few and far between.

In late 2014 he attempted a boxing comeback and knocked out his opponent in Moscow, but the organizer later revealed the match was fixed.

Garth Brooks

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Sometimes when a celebrity experiences so much success over the course of his or her career—which let’s say in this case is singing—at some point there’s a very good chance that celebrity will begin to believe he or she can do anything.

For well over a decade, almost everything country superstar Garth Brooks touched turned gold…or platinum. So in his late 30s in 1998 when he decided he wanted to become a baseball player, it probably seemed totally reasonable to the guy.

After three stunningly unsuccessful stints—the San Diego Padres in 1999, the New York Mets in 2000 and the Kansas City Royals in 2004—in MLB and obviously tired of embarrassing himself, Brooks mercifully pulled the plug on his baseball dreams.

It should come as no surprise that his ill-fated foray into baseball initially coincided with the release of Garth Brooks in…the Life of Chris Gaines, which was critically panned as a weird gimmick meant to be the “pre-soundtrack” to a movie about the fictitious Gaines, who was just Brooks in a wig.

Thank heaven Brooks has gotten back to what he knows in recent years, only wearing a baseball jersey when performing in front of a crowd.