For many of today’s athletes, Hollywood is an appealing place. I mean who wouldn’t want to do less hard work and earn more money without putting your body on the line on the field, court, or pitch every day.

While many famous athletes have attempted the transition to the big screen, very few have made a success out of it and fewer have been able to turn it into a career.

So let’s take a look at who I think are the Top 10 Best Athlete Actors.

Dan Marino

 

Athletic Career: NFL Football Player

Notable Roles: Ace Ventura, also appeared in The Simpsons as himself

NFL legend Dan Marino has not made a transition to Hollywood like a lot of the people on this list.

However his performance in Ace Ventura was for me one of the great athlete performances in recent time. Granted he was aided by one of Jim Carrey’s funnier films, but I thought Marino did a great job as himself alongside the pet detective.

Roddy Piper

 

Athletic Career: WWE Star

Notable Roles: They Live

OK I’ll admit it, I am a bit of a horror film fan and that is why Roddy Piper makes it to this list.

The WWE Legend delivered a fine performance as the lead character in this classic John Carpenter film. Set to make a comeback of sorts, Piper is slated to appear in a number of films to be released in 2010.

Brian Bosworth

 

Athletic Career: NFL Player

Notable Roles: Three Kings, Stone Cold, The Longest Yard

Brian “Boz” Bosworth had a successful career as a linebacker for Seattle Seahawks before he ventured into acting.

His acting career can be considered somewhat successful. His role in the 1991 action film Stone Cold has been his biggest to date.

A minor role in Three Kings and a number of straight to DVD films have followed. Along with a commentator role on the unsuccessful XFL.

Bosworth was most recently in the news for getting a DUI.

Randy Couture

 

Athletic Career: MMA fighter

Notable Roles: Scorpion King, Invincible, The Expendables

Randy “The Natural” Couture is a UFC legend and one of the founding figures behind the huge growth in Mixed Martial Arts in the past decade. He has done it all inside the octagon and is a multiple time Champion.

At 46 his time left as a fighter is running down so Couture has started his transition to the big screen.

Getting his big Hollywood break though in The Scorpion King, Couture has had minor roles to date. That looks set to change as he is part of Sylvester Stallone’s summer blockbuster The Expendables.

Kareem Abdul Jabbar

 

Athletic Career: NBA Player

Notable Roles: Airplane, Game of Death

Jabbar is an NBA legend and had a distinguished basketball career playing with the Milwaukee Bucks and the LA Lakers. He was a six time MVP and amassed a number of scoring records some of which still stand today during his playing days.

But Kareem makes this list for his work on the Bruce Lee classic Game of Death and his role in the hilarious Airplane in which he played a co-pilot who acknowledged himself as Kareem Abdul Jabbar to a young child.

Carl Weathers

 

Athletic Career: NFL, CFL Football Player

Notable Roles: Predator, Rocky, Rocky II, Rocky III, Rocky IV, Happy Gilmore

It’s amazing how many of my favorite films ever that Carl Weathers has appeared in, and it would be fair to say that Weathers acting career has been almost more successful then his athletic career.

Weathers was a linebacker and played just seven games for the Oakland Raiders in 1970 and also had a short career with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League.

But I am sure most will remember him as Apollo Creed!

Jason Lee

 

Athletic Career: Pro Skateboarder

Notable Roles: My Name Is Earl, Enemy of the State, Dogma, Almost Famous

Jason Lee was a notable Professional skateboarder in the late 1980s early 1990s and co-founded Stereo Skateboards. He has appeared on Tony Hawk video games and the new Skate 3 game.

Lee is most known for his successful TV series, My Name Is Earl, but he has also had notable roles in many indie films and has lent his voice to big Hollywood films such as The Incredibles.

Vinnie Jones

 

Athletic Career: English Soccer Player

Notable Roles: X-men, Swordfish, Lock Stock, Smokin’ Aces 2, Mean Street

The former Wimbledon FC hard man has made a pretty successful transition to acting from the hard days of early 80s English football.

Getting his break through in the gritty English drama Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrell’s directed by Guy Ritchie, Jones has not looked back.

Solid roles in films such as Swordfish, Gone In 60 Seconds, and the X-Men franchise have ensured his status as a viable Action star in Tinsletown.

The Rock

Athletic Career: CFL Football, WWE Star

Notable Roles: Scorpion King, Doom, Be Cool, Get Smart, The Game Plan

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has been pretty successful in forging a Hollywood career.

The Former WWE star has used his natural personality and physical stature to land some big action roles and now he seems to be the Disney man with some solid kid friendly roles in films such as Race To Witch Mountain.

Dwayne Johnson has come a long way from the days of Rocky Maivia!

Arnold Schwarzenegger

 

Athletic Career: Bodybuilding

Notable Roles: Terminator, Conan, True Lies, Predator, Twins, Total Recall

For me there is no former athlete who has been more successful then Arnold Schwarzenegger. This guy has done it all and come a long way from a small town in Austria.

A former Mr Olympia, Arnie reached the pinnacle of the bodybuilding world before landing the role that made his acting career in The Terminator. Saying around 13 words in the entire film, the role was almost made for him.

From there Schwarzenegger has had numerous big budget successes in Hollywood and has even moved into politics becoming the Governor of California.

For me the No.1 Athlete turned actor!