Few superstar athletes successfully transition from playing on the field to acting on the big screen. Joe DiMaggio, Babe Ruth and Muhammad Ali all played roles in the movies decades ago. In today’s post I want to mention a few of the more recent professional athletes who have also starred in movies.

Jim Brown – Jim Brown is probably the most famous athlete turned actor. Brown announced his retirement on July 14, 1966 after Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell insisted that Brown report to training camp instead of finishing his work on the movie The Dirty Dozen. Now that’s dedication! He’s starred in dozens of movies including Any Given Sunday, He Got Game, and Mars Attacks!

Shaquille O’Neal – Shaq Daddy’s move fame came during the mid 90s when he starred in three movies in three years, Blue Chips (he plays a college basketball player on the take), Kazaam (he plays a genie), and Steel ( a superhero with a heavy metal suit). Shaq also had cameos in a few other movies.

Michael Jordan – The Air Man starred alongside Bugs bunny in the live action/cartoon basketball movie Space Jam. It’s a fun family movie but not something you’d find in an AMC Vault. Though it was never adapted to a major motion picture, Jordan also starred as himself in the cartoon series ProStars, with Wayne Gretsky and Bo Jackson.

OJ Simpson – Legal woes aside… The Juice starred in a dozen movies. Most notably for his role as Nordberg in the Naked Gun series. Remember when he’s in the wheelchair at the end of Naked Gun and wheels down the stadium steps backwards? Classic OJ. He also played in several dramas including The Towering Inferno and Back to the Beach.

Brief Roles:
Brett Favre – Played himself in Something About Mary

Dan Marino – Played himself in Ace Ventura

While athletes may star in a lot of films (some of them are quite funny), I don’t think we’ll be seeing any Oscar winners grown from the dugout. Although Jason Taylor may be retiring soon…