Stars on and off the field

Contributed by Emma Booth.
Regional Director, USA Sport Group.

I was watching Escape to Victory last night (or Victory as it is called here in the States) and was astonished at the large number of soccer stars in the movie. It got me thinking. Have there been any other sporting legends who have swapped sport for the big screen? And if Vinnie Jones, Bruce Lee, Arnold Schwarzenegger and ‘The Rock’ immediately sprung to mind, then think again. They are far too obvious, and I like a challenge…

Brett Favre
There is something about Favre in There's Something About Mary. Just magical.

Lance Armstrong
Tour de France hero, and Dodgeball superstar. The film, not the sport.

Derek Jeter
Jeter gets credit for his hitting all the time, but he finally got a silver screen credit in The Other Guys.

Lee Trevino
A golfing legend, the Merry Mex appeared in Happy Gilmore.

John McEnroe
Luckily Mr McEnroe didn’t have to ‘be serious’ when starring in comedy Mr. Deeds.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Kareem flew through the air in his NBA days. Didn’t know he could fly an Airplane though.

Shola Ameobi
There were a multitude of soccer stars in Goal! But Shola Ameobi was the stand out performer.

David Beckham
Not only starred in, but the entire movie Bend It Like Beckham was based around, well, Beckham.

Eric Cantona
Read above, and replace David Beckham with Eric Cantona, and Bend It Like Beckham with Looking For Eric.

Michael Jordan
Space Jam. No more needs to be said.