The career of a professional athlete, regardless the sport, usually has a very brief life compared to other professions. According to science, the average human’s physical prime usually begins to fade from the early to mid-30s, quite a young age by social and biological standards. So what happens when professional athletes have to retire and do something else for a living? Here’s a list of 25 cases where athletes couldn’t stay away from the camera flashes and starlight and pursued an acting career seeking more money and glory.
20. Wilt Chamberlain, Conan the Destroyer
Do you guys remember the huge black guy in Conan the Destroyer who bit off a chunk of Conan’s ear and probably became the main inspiration for the likes of Mike Tyson and Luis Suárez? In real life the man who portrayed Bombaata was none other than the mighty Wilt Chamberlain. We would literally need pages to write down all his basketball records and accolades but let’s just mention two things about him so you can get the picture: He’s considered the greatest basketball player of all time by many fans and experts, even ahead of Michael Jordan, and he’s also the only player in history to score 100 points in a single NBA game. Did you say anything, Mike? That’s right, I didn’t think so.
15. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Airplane!
We don’t think there are any sports and non-sports fans out there alike who are not familiar with the name Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Kareem is one of the greatest NBA players ever and still holds several records after all these years since he retired. So, after he won a record six NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards, played in a record nineteen NBA All-Star games, and won six NBA championship rings, he decided to retire and go into acting. Most readers will remember him as the huge, blind, skinny tower in Game of Death in which his character, Hakim, got his butt kicked by Bruce Lee, but his best role, in our opinion, was as the copilot in the hilariously funny ‘80s comedy Airplane!
10. Dolph Lundgren, Rocky IV
Dolph Lundgren is one of the most multitalented guys you could ever meet; he has literally done pretty much everything in his life: He has a master’s degree in chemical engineering; he served two years in the Swedish Marine Corps at the Amphibious Ranger School; he worked as a model, he worked as a bouncer and also competed as a professional karateka (karate practitioner) in international tournaments winning the European championships in 1980 and 1981, and a world heavyweight title in Australia in 1982. However, it’s almost certain most of us remember him as the Soviet boxing machine who killed Apollo in Rocky IV and accidentally broke Stallone‘s ribs while shooting a fighting scene. “Whatever he hits, he destroys.”
5. Chuck Norris, The Delta Force
The name Chuck Norris might be synonymous with jokes and anecdotes nowadays but the actor and martial artist was a true badass with supreme fighting skills before he became an actor. He won the Professional World Middleweight Karate Championships in 1968 and held the title for six years until he retired in 1974. For that matter, he was so good that he caught Bruce Lee’s eye, who then demanded that the producers hire Norris to play the villain in Way of the Dragon. To be quite honest we’re not really fond of Chuck’s acting skills in that film, but his portrayal of Major Scott McCoy in The Delta Force is so bad it’s actually ironically good.
Read more: http://list25.com/25-awesome-film-roles-by-professional-athletes/
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