There are plenty of actors and actresses with athletic abilities and chiseled bodies who look like they should really be out on a field or court rather than acting like they are.
It doesn’t take an active imagination to guess that the likes of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Terry Crews and Carl Weathers actually spent some time competing in various sports, but some of these names may surprise you.
Here are the Hollywood hot shots who also stood in the sports spotlight.
Smokey and the Bandit, Deliverance, The Longest Yard, Boogie Nights … Yeah, Burt Reynolds is a legend. The craziest part about this Hollywood hunk’s unbelievable career is that it may have never even existed had it not been an unfortunate twist of fate during his playing days in college with the Florida State Seminoles.
Tampa Bay Times, Yahoo
Reynolds was a star football player in growing up in Florida. An outstanding high school career earned him numerous scholarships, but he chose to play at Florida State.
A standout halfback, Reynolds aspired to go pro until a knee injury in his sophomore season and car accident later that year left him with the difficult decision to pursue another passion.
The quickest way to a man’s heart is with Chuck Norris’s first. Watching anything involving the high-kicking martial artist – the star of the Walker, Texas Ranger series amongst a list of action movies – without dropping a Chuck Norris “facts” is borderline unacceptable. These jokes aren’t simply rooted in his various acting roles, however.
phactual.com, Playbuzz
Norris isn’t just some martial arts practitioner, he is a full-on guru. Earning a black belt in any discipline is a remarkable accomplishment. Norris has a collection: 9th degree black belt in Tang Soo Do, 8th degree black belt in taekwondo, 5th degree black belt in karate, 3rd degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and black belt in judo.
Oh yeah, he also invented the martial art Chun Kuk Do.
Terry Crews and his titanium armor-looking body makes for a sight that evokes the same thought in all of us regarding his athletic endeavors, “It’d be a real shame if he didn’t use that blow up some opponents.”
dailymail.co.uk, businessinsider.com
Before Crews was laying down the law in blockbusters like The Expendables series and hit sitcoms like Everybody Hates Chris and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, he was laying out running backs and quarterbacks at the college and pro level.
Crews won a MAC championship during his time at Western Michigan before seeing action at the NFL level with the Rams, Chargers and Redskins.
The one fun fact that we can all pin on Sean Connery is that he likes his martinis shaken, not stirred. Okay, that was his James Bond character. So, what do we know about the actual person and not just actor Sean Connery? It turns out he’s pretty much an action hero in real life too.
bodybuilding.com, Dialect Blog
A young Connery used to make the world swoon for more than his Bond-like charm. He was a competitive bodybuilder! That’s right, Connery’s physique was so impressive that he competed in the famous Mr. Universe competition. That piece of personal information leaves us shaken, not stirred.
Phil Robertson’s name did not become a household one until his later years thanks to the success of his A&E reality show, Duck Dynasty. It’s remarkable how full circle Robertson’s journey came, as the eccentric hunter’s decision to not pursue his shot at fame to continue hunting eventually led to his success.
Pinterest, TV Guide
The lifelong Louisianan played quarterback for Louisiana Tech on scholarship. Better yet, the starting QB was playing ahead of Steelers legend and future Pro Football Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw.
Craziest of all, Robertson was reportedly offered a shot at playing for the Washington Redskins, but chose not to because it’d get in the way of his hunting!
If there was a human version of the Swiss Army knife, the prototype would be Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Whatever Dwayne Johnson (the actor) touches turns to gold, which is like sitting through a full movie credits’ worth of just his name. But he was fast and furious on the football field, as well.
theglobeandmail.com, popsugar.com
Johnson got his big break wrestling in the WWF/WWE as “The Rock,” but his resume as an athlete dates back further. The Rock first began tossing bodies around as a football player and was a part of the iconic Miami Hurricanes 1991 National Championship team before a very brief stint in the CFL.
Forest Whitaker has been spitting words of wisdom in countless classics on the silver screen for decades, but it was his second gig ever that gives us a glimpse into his past life. Whitaker’s role as a high school football player on Fast Times at Ridgemont High made for a seamless transition from his former reality.
classmates.com, Neilson Barnard / Getty Images
Whitaker was a standout defensive tackle at Palisades Charter High School (Los Angeles, CA), enough so that he earned a scholarship from nearby California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
Had it not been for an apparent back injury that led to a change in university, we may never have been gifted one of our favorite wise man of the movies.
Mark Harmon has been a staple character in numerous hit dramas, starring in such series as West Wing, NCIS and JAG. But before Harmon became a regular in Hollywood on the Red Carpet — and married the adorable Pam Dawber of Mork and Mindy fame — he was strutting his stuff elsewhere in Los Angeles.
Pinterest, People
After completing his associate degree at Pierce College in Los Angeles, Harmon transferred to nearby UCLA where he was the Bruins’ starting quarterback for two years. Harmon took a team coming off a dismal 2-7-1 season in 1971 and led the Bruins to an 8-3 and 9-2 record in the following years.
As the crow flies, but as the Sheryl hurdles. Sheryl Crow is an accomplished musician who has won nine Grammy awards and sold over 50 million albums worldwide. She also gained a new level of fame for her high-profile relationship with disgruntled cyclist Lance Armstrong. But before she was rocking out on stages around the globe, Crow was flying high as a member of her track team.
Pinterest, Getty
At Kennett High School in Missouri, Crow was an all-state track star, medaling in the 75-meter low hurdles. While standing on the podium, Crow was sure to soak up some sun and the glory that comes with gold.
Emma Watson stole all of our hearts as Hermione Granger in the big screen adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter literary series. Of course, Watson wasn’t just acting like a smarty pants on the screen. She demonstrated her brainiac abilities by earning her bachelor’s degree at the prestigious Ivy-League school, Brown University.
Pinterest, Popsugar
Not only did Watson pull off the impressive feat of earning a college degree between her various acting roles, she played collegiate field hockey! The thought of an international star like Watson even having time to even attend a game as a fan seems improbable let alone competing with a one-sided hockey stick.
Matthew Perry, one of the stars of the iconic sitcom, Friends, was often in the headlines during the show’s heyday due to prescription addictions that led to repeated fluctuations in his weight. These dramatic changes in appearance likely paint a picture of a far more sedentary life than Perry has far different than the man Perry is.
People, US Weekly
A younger Perry not only played tennis competitively, he was nationally ranked! Perry was ranked as high as No. 17 in junior singles and No. 3 in junior doubles. The Ottawa native would reportedly put in up to 10 hours of practice a day! But as a tennis pro, Perry never went the Whole Nine Yards.
Jason Lee is known to many as the mustachioed star of the hit television series My Name is Earl, while others know him from roles in ‘90s and ‘00s cult classic films like Mallrats. Before any of that, Lee first made a name for himself shredding.
Pinterest, reddit
Lee’s passion for skateboarding is understandable, considering his Southern California roots based out of Huntington Beach. Skateboarding wasn’t just a passion, he was a legit pro skater through the ‘80s and early ‘90s with some serious moves.
His recurring roles in Kevin Smith’s “View Askewniverse” somehow makes much more sense knowing about his skater roots.
What’s an action movie without our favorite Englishman anti-hero, Jason Statham? Before Statham came to be known by adrenaline film junkies as the age-defying, shredded, baddest bald dude ever to appear on the silver screen, he was crushing it as an athlete … and as a model. Shocker.
sportskeeda.com, TV Tropes
While it’s reasonable to assume that Statham competed in a martial art, he was actually discovered thanks to his time as a competitive diver.
Video of Statham competing as a diver (1 m, 3 m, 10 m) in the 1990 Commonwealth gave a telling glimpse into the acrobatics he’d come to flaunt in countless fight scenes. Most eye-opening of all is the impressive mop Statham sported.
All right, so by no means should it come as any sort of surprise that Dolph Lundgren also has a history as an athlete. His iconic character as the larger-than-life Soviet boxer Ivan Drago in Rocky IV presents all the evidence we need.
Pinterest, Muscle & Fitness
Lundgren, who is also famously known to have earned a master’s degree in chemical engineering – more brains and brawn than we can handle – is a third dan (sandan) black belt in Kyokushin karate. That’s not all. Lundgren set the bar in Kyokushin during his peak as a 2-time European champion (1980-81) and Australian champion (1982).
Eat your heart out Homer Simpson, Ed O’Neill is the ultimate king of the couch TV dad. Before O’Neill’s fatherly role in Modern Family, he was the lovable loser living in his high school football glory days as Al Bundy on Married… with Children. What makes O’Neill’s role as a bitter shoe salesman, nostalgic of his “peak” years as an All-State quarterback for Polk High even better is that he was a legit stud on the gridiron!
Yahoo Sports, Pinterest
O’Neill was talented enough at football in high school to earn a football scholarship to Ohio University.
After transferring to Youngstown State and finishing out his collegiate career as a defensive lineman, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed O’Neill as an undrafted free agent in 1969, though he was cut during training camp.
Enjoying crazy fight scenes in action movies and actually participating in real life hand-to-hand combat are two very different things. For that reason, those less familiar with the whole “fighting for realsies” MMA thing may not know that Haywire and Deadpool star Gina Carano also professionally competed in combat sports.
MMA Weekly, Carbon Costume
Carano’s incredible 12-1-1 kickboxing record and 7-1 MMA record made her more than qualified to compete as the gladiator “Crush” on the TV series, American Gladiators. Whether it be in the octagon or on the big screen with Ryan Reynolds, Carano is a certified star wherever she takes her talents.
Joel McHale developed into a big-time celebrity as the host of the wildly popular pop culture review show, The Soup. As for his acting chops, adoring fans most notably know him for his star role as Jeff Winger in the NBC hit comedy Community.
heavy.com, ew.com
McHale has shed his shirt in various scenes, showing that he’s not only tall, but pretty fit too. Well, it turns out he’s more than just “pretty fit,” as McHale was a talented enough rower to be recruited out of high school.
Instead, McHale chose to join his friends at the University of Washington and put his 6’4” frame to use as a walk-on tight end with the Huskies.
Tom Selleck’s acting career is about as diverse as it gets, as the heartthrob acted in widely popular shows and movies like Magnum, P.I. to Friends to Three Men and a Baby. Selleck’s 6’4” frame also served him well on the court as a basketball player.
Pinterest, New York Times
Selleck’s high school play was good enough to earn him a scholarship to USC where he would go on to play two seasons with the Trojans.
Though he didn’t much playing time, the fact that he managed to balance playing basketball, joining a fraternity and working as a model while earning a business degree is just plain ridiculous.
Joe Rogan is a stand-up comedian also known for his tenure as the UFC’s animated commentator. Others simply know Rogan as “the Fear Factor guy” or as Joe Garelli from the hit ‘90s sitcom, NewsRadio. For those who only know Rogan’s body of work outside the UFC, there’s good reason that this comic commentates fights.
rebrn.com, TV Guide
Before earning black belts in no-gi and gi jiu-jitsu as an adult, Rogan grew up training and competing in taekwondo competitions. He was a four-time Massachusetts state champion and winner of the 1987 taekwondo U.S. Open Championships at age 19!
After a brief run at amateur kickboxing, Rogan turned to metaphorically killing on stage rather than literally dropping bodies on floors.
David Duchovny has starred in a plethora of great films and television shows, though he is most widely known for his Golden Globe performances as Fox Mulder on the out-of-this-world smash hit The X-Files, Californication and the 1990 cult classic, Twin Peaks.
Pinterest, Theo Wargo / NBC
Before Duchovny established himself as an acting phenom, he was flaunting his talents on the hardwood. Duchovny was the captain of his high school basketball team before playing for the JV team at Princeton.
Fun fact: Duchovny desperately wanted to play Woody Harrison’s character, Billy Hoyle, in White Men Can’t Jump and even auditioned for the part.
Uzo Aduba may play her part as Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren on Orange is the New Black almost a little too well, because it is just plain hard to picture her being, well, anything but crazy.
Before Aduba embarked on her career in theatre and film, however, her focus was on sports.
Twitter, justjared.com
Aduba was an incredible sprinter and one of Boston University’s top talents, running the 55, 100 and 200-meter dash. For a little perspective on just how fantastic her time at BU was, she had a personal best of 7.07 seconds in the 55-meter dash– that’s only .04 seconds shy of the school record.
Don’t let the unassuming stature and quiet demeanor of Brooklyn’s Tony Danza fool you. America’s beloved star of Taxi and Who’s the Boss? only broke out onto the acting scene after he was discovered … in a boxing gym. Boxing wasn’t just Danza’s hobby, it was his profession.
boyculture.com, Daily Mail
Hollywood’s 5’9” Italian Stallion was the real deal in the ring. Before turning to acting, Danza sported a 9-3 record as a pro with all but two of his wins coming in the first round!
The only tough part about playing a taxi driver and boxer in Taxi was that his character wasn’t very good.
Like many of us did growing up, Kurt Russell took after his father, Bing, in creating a similar career path. Except Russell followed his pops down two particularly unique professions that we could only dream. Russell’s acting career has blossomed from a heartthrob hero to a transcendent action star. He also played professional baseball just like pops.
Gammons Daily, Jesse Grant / Getty Images
Russell already had plenty of acting roles under his belt by the time he decided to give professional baseball a try. His Minor League run, which began in 1971, was no gimmick, however, as he lasted a few years playing at the Class A and Double-A level as a switch hitter.
Spike Lee’s 1998 film, He Got Game, starred NBA sharpshooter and first-ballot Hall of Famer Ray Allen. While Denzel Washington played the supporting role as the father of Jesus Shuttlesworth (Allen), many may not be aware that this was far from Washington’s first experience hooping with some real deal ballers.
Pinterest, Wikipedia
Washington had some legit skills on the basketball court himself. In fact, when the New York native was attending Fordham University, he played for the Rams’ junior varsity basketball team under future Golden State Warriors coach P.J. Carlesimo. Washington played two seasons (1972-74), boasting an 18-1 record in his sophomore season.
Tommy Lee Jones has been in enough action and western movies for 10-15 lifetimes, but long before he was kicking alien butt Men in Black style with Will Smith, or tracking down the Fugitive, he was putting whooping human butt on the gridiron as a member of the Harvard Crimson football team.
reddit, Pinterest
Jones played offensive guard from 1966-69 and earned first team All-Ivy League for an outstanding 1968 season. 1968 was really something special – after winning the Ivy League championship two years prior, Jones and the Crimson earned an undefeated to claim another conference championship. Jones also played in the famous Harvard comeback “victory” vs. Yale in 1968 that ended in a 28-28 tie.
Jim Gaffigan is first and foremost a stand-up comedian, but his countless film cameos and television appearances make him more than qualified to make the cut as an actor. But we cannot believe this funny man had his fair share of success as a college football player in the Big Ten.
rebrn.com, kansascity.com
Gaffigan first attended Purdue and was talented enough to get a spot on the Boilermakers roster as a walk-on. After one year, Gaffigan transferred to Georgetown where he finished his collegiate football career with the Hoyas.
How Hot Pockets never signed him as their upside down Wheaties spokesman is truly a mystery.
Those outside the U.K. may not know that Vinnie Jones has been a bad boy since long before appearing on the big screen. The Englishman’s signature tough guy character has made for classic roles like as the Juggernaut featured on classics like the Juggernaut in X-Men: The Last Stand and his legendary role as the crazy soccer firm leader in EuroTrip.
The Telegraph, baidata.org
Jones had the perfect experience to play the role of a crazed British soccer hooligan in EuroTrip, as he was a hard man on one of Britain’s most notoriously tough teams, Wimbledon FC’s “Crazy Gang.”
From bad boy on the pitch to bad boy in the pictures, Jones keeps on crushing it.
Carl Weathers dazzled on one of the biggest stages in boxing history as Apollo Creed in the classic Rocky series. It should be no surprise that the man who made up half of the manliest handshake in history has his own history as an athlete.
boblemke.blogspot.com, wikipedia.org
Before putting up some big hits in his acting career, Weathers was laying down some big hits on the gridiron. No only did he play Division I football at for the San Diego State Aztecs, Weathers played a pair of NFL seasons with the Oakland Raiders and spent a season in the Canadian Football League.
Okay, this one really doesn’t require an active imagination in any sense of the of word. Lou Ferrigno, who is quite literally built like the Hulk, took over our televisions playing just that in the 1970s on CBS’s The Incredible Hulk series.
George De Sota / Getty Images, Frazer Harrison / Getty Images
Before he was tearing off his shirt, getting mean and turning green , he was a professional body builder. (Well, he was still tearing his shirt off then too.)
The biggest difference from bodybuilding to acting as the Hulk for Ferrigno – who famously starred in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Pumping Iron – was swapping tanning lotion out for green paint.
Jason Segel’s various comedic roles from sitcoms like How I Met Your Mother and Freaks and Geeks to his ridiculous character in films like I Love You, Man have made him a lovable teddy that we can’t get enough of.
Actually, he was pulling on heart strings in high school too.
surfingbird.ru, Michael Kovac / Getty Images
The 6’4” Segel was a fan favorite on Harvard-Westlake School’s (Los Angeles, CA) basketball team. Although he served as the backup center, his springs earned him the title “Dr. Dunk” after winning a dunk contest. Segel’s team won back-to-back state championships in his time there.
Oh yeah, and the player he was backing up was former NBA center Jason Collins.
31. Mahershala Ali
Mahershala Ali had his breakthrough on the silver screen as a Juan in the film “Moonlight.” For his role, Ali won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Ali won a second Academy Award for his role in Green Book. What does all that mean? Ali is a great actor with a bright future ahead of him.
Bleacherreport, Getty
However, Ali didn’t always plan on becoming an actor, and the path he took before that looked like it was going to be a slam dunk. After high school, Ali enrolled at Division I Saint Mary’s College but became disenfranchised with the treatment of athletes. Ali then made the pass of his life and ditched basketball for acting, a move that has worked out quite well.
You think Channing Tatum learned his moves for “Magic Mike” on set? Do you think Tatum was taught how to tackle while filming “21 Jump Street”? No, he didn’t. Tatum spent his formative years in Tampa where he starred on his high school’s football team. The man who was voted most athletic in his class then went onto play college football at Glenville State College in West Virginia.
Pinterest, Getty
College football, Tatum would soon find out, was not what he anticipated, and the scholarship athlete dropped out to return home where he took on odd jobs including stripping. From there, pole dancing turned into modeling gigs. Modeling gigs snowballed into small acting roles, and soon enough Tatum was starring in Hollywood blockbusters. Touchdown Tatum!
Josh Duhamel was a stud with a cannon for an arm, and that cannon helped land him a job as the quarterback for Minot State University. Despite his best efforts, Duhamel wasn’t going to the NFL. Hardly anyone does from Minot State. So Duhamel did what everyone else would do in his position: transform himself.
West Fargo Pioneer, Getty
Yes, Duhamel, one of the stars of the “Transformers” movie series, reinvented himself. After college, he became a model before transitioning to a different kind of job in front of the cameras. As an actor, Duhamel has starred in dozens of television and movie roles.
We can all agree that comic actor Jon Stewart is a good-looking dude who seems to – save for his gradually graying hair – defy the aging process. Still, it’s hard to imagine the longtime host of The Daily Show being active, as he spent over a decade sitting behind a desk.
Pinterest, Variety
Daly’s fantastic flow was likely right at home in his younger years, as the Comedy Central icon spent his undergraduate years on the pitch College of William & Mary’s soccer team. In fact, Stewart even scored a game-winning goal against the NCAA powerhouse Connecticut Huskies to win the ECAC Championship.
Sam “in the” Hunt wasn’t always the most loveable personality in country music. A standout high school quarterback, Hunt enrolled at Division I Middle Tennessee State University in 2003 and played there through the 2004 season. Upset with the limited amount of playing time he saw, Hunt transferred to the University of Alabama Birmingham where he started to make a bigger impact.
Odyssey, Getty
There at UAB is where Hunt also picked up a guitar for the first time, teaching himself how to play after practice. After graduating in 2007, Hunt tried out for the Kansas City Chiefs. Needless to say, he didn’t make the cut. So Hunt whipped out the trusty guitar and started throwing together some nice chords. Today, Hunt is one of the most recognizable names in country music.
Sources: ESPN, Fashionista, Chicago Tribune, Sports Reference, NY Times, Newsweek, BU, Baseball Reference,