5 Athletes Who Can Act Surprisingly Well
Athletes and Actors are two separate entities, but occasionally lines are blurred and your teams shooting guard can be viewed on the silver screen doing scenes with Cameron Diaz or in rare situations masquerading as a genie.
This is a list of some of the finer performances of athletes who made the jump into film.
Mike Tyson in the Hangover
1 of 5
Although I have yet to see the Hangover 2 and am not sure how excited I am to do so, I found Tyson's performance in the the first movie to be one of best parts of the film.
In contrast to the real life idea we have of Tyson, his on screen persona came across as quite laid back and likeable.
What's not to love about a former Heavy Weight champ singing Phil Collins.
The answer is nothing.
Ray Allen in He Got Game
2 of 5
Ray Allen is one of the few athletes whose performance was not only watchable, but highly panned by critics, including Roger Ebert who called Allen "that rarity, an athlete who can act."
Allen plays Jesus Shuttlesworth who is the basketball star son of Denzel Washington. He hangs in there with Washington for most of the movie and is the legitimate star of the film.
We are all waiting for his next role with Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett in "Grumpy Old Men 3."
O.J. Simpson in the Naked Gun Trilogy
3 of 5
Long before O.J. Simpson became a con and a punchline, he was a star running back and one of the better comedic actors that has transitioned from the sporting world.
He played Nortberg, the bumbling partner to Leslie Nielson's "Frank Drebin."
Simpson's work wasn't Oscar worthy by any means, but he held his own alongside one of the funniest men to ever grace the screen. He ran into walls, fell down stairs, even occasionally donned an Afro for the first movie and it's two sequels.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Kareem Abdul- Jabbar in Airplane
4 of 5
It seems as though the Zucker brothers (the men who also made the Naked Gun) had a thing for putting big time athletes in their movies and making them very-very funny.
Before O.J. Simpson, they brought Los Angeles Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the screen in Airplane as one of the planes three captains.
His finest moment came after he ate the fish that poisoned everyone on board and led to universal pandemonium and he was carried to the back of aircraft in his full Lakers gear; goggles and all.
Arnold Schwarzenegger in Everything but the Last Action Hero
5 of 5
It's far too easy to poke fun at Ahhh-nold right now with his pending divorce from Maria Shriver and the rumors of his illegitimate children.
The fact is simple; when Arnold was acting he was one of the most sought after action stars in Hollywood. While he may never have been nominated for an Oscar and probably never will, his films have grossed almost $4 billion during his 25 year career and will forever live in infamy for his role in The Terminator.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
