Top Ten Athlete Actors

On the hardwood, O’Neal dominated the paint. On the big screen, he granted wishes and fought crime. In 1996, the 7'1", 325-pound center transformed into an affable genie in the family film Kazaam. The next year he took the lead role in Steel, in which he played an armored superhero.

Dwayne Johnson was an intimidating defensive tackle for the 1991 championship-winning Miami Hurricanes and was known in the WWE as the Rock. But on the big screen he showed that he had a softer side in films like 2010’s Tooth Fairy, putting on tights and wings to play the title role.

Connors — one of only 12 athletes to play in both the NBA and MLB, and the first professional basketball player to break a backboard — was a different kind of sharpshooter on TV. He starred as a good-guy cowboy in the TV western series The Rifleman and also appeared in 45 movies.

The former U.S. Olympian made good use of her acrobatic skills after she retired from gymnastics, taking flight on Broadway as the boy who wouldn’t grow up in Peter Pan. She reprised the iconic role several times across the U.S., even as recently as 2013.

After 15 years as a member of the Fearsome Foursome defensive line for the Los Angeles Rams, the NFL Hall of Famer turned to the small screen and starred in the 1970s show Little House on the Prairie. Olsen also appeared in Father Murphy and Aaron’s Way.

The NFL Hall of Famer was an all-time great on the gridiron and went on to have a successful acting career. He was a natural in Any Given Sunday, playing a football coach in the 1999 flick. He also used his stony demeanor to intimidate martians in the 1996 movie Mars Attacks!

The ferocious All-Pro lineman for the Detroit Lions showed a kinder side in his starring role as an adoptive father in the popular 1980s television series Webster. Karras learned his comedic skills from the best — legendary actress Lucille Ball of I Love Lucy helped him train for small acting parts when he first got started in showbiz.

Johnny Weissmuller displayed his upper-body strength in the pool — winning five Olympic gold medals and setting 67 world records in the 1920s — as well as in his second career as the tree-swinging Tarzan. Weissmuller starred as the famous ape man in 20 films throughout the 1930s and ’40

Uecker may have had an unremarkable career on the baseball field, but he became a lovable funny man and a respected broadcaster after retiring. Known for cracking jokes in his role on the 1980s family sitcom Mr. Belvedere, the Milwaukee Brewers broadcaster also made dozens of guest appearances on The Tonight Show.

Dryer spent 13 years as a menacing NFL defensive end and later became a no-nonsense detective in the 1980s TV drama Hunter. He also had a star turn playing a sportscaster on the TV comedy Cheers.

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