Over the years, plenty of professional wrestlers have tried their hands at acting. While not all of them have had what it takes, many have gone on to carve out successful careers for themselves in Hollywood. It shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, really, considering that these finely tuned athletes already have a proven track record when it comes to entertaining.
The Rock’s is undoubtedly one of the biggest success stories, but wrestlers had been appearing in movies and television shows long before Johnson’s silver screen debut. The eighties in particular was a great decade for wrestlers hoping to make the transition, with a plethora of action movies providing plenty of demand for muscular men.
10 The Rock
Plenty of former wrestlers have attempted to transition from the ring to the silver screen, but few have done so quite as successfully as The Rock. The people’s champ’s first big role came in 2001’s The Mummy Returns, in which he plays the CGI monstrosity that is Mathayus, or the Scorpion King as he’s perhaps better known.
After reprising the role in his own standalone movie the following year, Johnson’s acting career really began to take off and he’s since gone on to feature in another 40 movies. His most notable roles include Luke Hobbs from the Fast and the Furious series and Doctor Xander from the more recent Jumanji flicks.
9 Hulk Hogan
Back in the eighties and early nineties, Hulk Hogan was the biggest name in wrestling. As a result, the Hulkster was offered plenty of movie roles, the first of which came in Rocky III back in 1982. He wasn’t quite able to best Stallone’s character in the ring, but he did prove popular with audiences and this led to a string of other opportunities.
Most of the movies featuring Hogan are action oriented, although there are a few exceptions. He has a cameo in Gremlins 2 and plays a former wrestler turned babysitter in the 1993 comedy Mr. Nanny. He remained active throughout much of the nineties, although has only appeared in two movies since the turn of the century.
8 Roddy Piper
The late Roddy Piper is perhaps best known these days for his role as The Maniac in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, but prior to his appearances on the show, he appeared in plenty of movies. Like Hogan, the majority of these were action flicks, with Piper typically playing the tough guy with an attitude.
Some of his career highlights include Green Lantern: Emerald Knights, Back in Action and the 2011 wrestling movie Fancypants. Perhaps his most memorable performance, however, came in They Live; a cheesy eighties action movie stuffed full of badass one-liners and unnecessary explosions.
7 John Cena
No wrestler has held the WWE Championship more times than John Cena. He’s done so on 13 separate occasions now, three more than anybody else has managed. While he’s widely considered to be one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time though, his acting career hasn’t been quite as successful.
His first few appearances came in movies produced by the WWE’s own production studio and many of those that have followed went straight to video. He does have a few big roles on the horizon though, most notably Peacemaker in the upcoming Suicide Squad movie and Dom’s brother in the next Fast & Furious flick.
6 Stone Cold Steve Austin
Stone Cold is one of the most important wrestlers in WWE history, not only because of his performances in the ring, but also his rebellious persona. It was the latter which helped spearhead the WWE’s Attitude era, which in turn allowed the company to stave off fierce competition from WCW. Austin then took this attitude to Hollywood with hopes of becoming a star.
Between 2005 and 2015, Stone Cold appeared in fifteen movies, with the most notable being The Longest Yard, The Expendables and Grown Ups 2. Although unable to make quite the same impact on the silver screen as he did in the ring, he has found moderate success as a reality TV show host.
5 Dave Bautista
Although best known for his portrayal of Drax in the MCU, Dave Bautista has a fairly impressive resume. Since his on screen debut in 2006, he’s appeared in more than 25 movies and has another three in production at the time of writing.
As well as his many MCU appearances, Bautista has also featured in Riddick, Blade Runner 2049 and the 2015 Bond movie, Spectre. He’s unlikely to break free of the Drax label anytime soon though, especially as he’s set to reprise the role in Thor: Love and Thunder next year.
4 Goldberg
Goldberg is one of the many wrestlers who joined the WWE after the company bought out WCW in 2001. Although popular with fans and an incredibly talented performer, his championship record following the move was a little underwhelming. Sadly, the same could perhaps be said of his movie career.
Since first appearing in Universal Soldier: The Return in 1999, he’s struggled to land any substantial roles. His biggest came as one of the cons in The Longest Yard, in which he and Kevin Nash line up against their former coworkers The Great Khali and Stone Cold Steve Austin on the football field.
3 The Big Show
The Big Show has been acting for almost as long as he’s been a wrestler, with his first appearance coming in the 1996 flick Reggie’s Prayer and this was quickly followed up with a role in the Arnold Schwarzenegger classic, Jingle All the Way. Show’s most notable appearance, however, came a few years later.
Anybody who has seen The Waterboy will likely remember his Captain Insano character; a fictional wrestler who mocks Bobby after learning that he’s a 31 year old water boy. Interestingly, AEW very recently filed a trademark for the character, perhaps suggesting that Show will be reprising the role in the not too distant future.
2 Jesse Ventura
Jesse ‘The Body’ Ventura had a huge impact on the world of pro wrestling back in the seventies and eighties before eventually turning his attention to Hollywood. He didn’t appear in too many movies, but had one or two iconic roles in those that he did.
The most notable of these has to be Blain ‘I ain’t got time to bleed’ Cooper in Predator, but this wasn’t the only 1987 Schwarzenegger movie that he appears in. The former wrestler also plays Captain Freedom in the sci-fi classic, The Running Man. Much like his former co-star, Ventura also enjoyed a successful spell as a politician, serving as Governor of Minnesota between 1999 and 2003.
1 Andre The Giant
Andre Roussimoff stood at over seven feet tall, prompting some to refer to him as ‘the eighth wonder of the world’. While not quite on the same level as the other seven, perhaps, there were few who could measure up to Andre in the ring. Many tried, but only Hulk Hogan was able to consistently best this monster of a man.
Roussimoff’s influence wasn’t just limited to the ring though, with the giant also appearing in numerous movies and television shows throughout the seventies and eighties. He’s best remembered for his portrayal of Fezzik in The Princess Bride and also played Dogoth in Conan the Destroyer; somehow managing to make even Arnie look small in the process.
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