Best Movie Appearances By Athletes in a Non-Athlete Role
By Jason Lisk
Of course, many issues present themselves. Who is an athlete? I’ve apparently, in looking over my list, drawn the line between professional body builder and professional wrestler. I’m not sure there is any logic behind it, but Arnold will not be making an appearance. Also, apologies to Shaquille O’Neal, Gheorghe Muresan, Bubba Smith, and the Rock, none of whom cracked my list. I’m also the guy who never punches even numbers on the microwave, so you get a top 11, not a top 10. Here are my top 11 athletes portraying non-athletes in movies.
6. Jim Brown in The Dirty Dozen. I had a long comment where I statistically analyzed Jim Brown’s acting career to show that he was not the best athlete in film history. But I forgot to save the work.
5. Cam Neely as Seabass in Dumb & Dumber. Kick his ass, Seabass.
4. John Matuszak as Sloth in Goonies (plus bonus points for also being Tonda in Caveman). You may have missed that John Matuszak was Sloth, because of the appearance. Or perhaps you didn’t know who Matuszak, a gregarious defensive linemen who played on the 1980 Raiders Super Bowl team, was. Either way, he was involved in two memorable roles of my childhood. And yes, I just called a movie with Ringo Starr and Shelley Long memorable, I didn’t say what kind of memorable.
3. Andre the Giant as Fezzik in The Princess Bride. Andre was a delight as Fezzik, from the rhyming, to the fight on the rocks, to his role wearing the large black cloak as they stormed the castle. And yes, I’m counting a professional wrestler as an athlete.
2. Kareem Abdul-Jabaar as Roger Murdock in Airplane. By putting him second, I don’t have to erect a statue in his honor. I know this may be a violation of my rules about non-athlete cameos, but he was playing Roger Murdock, not Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. See, his nametag even says it–Roger Murdock. And you try dragging Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes.
1. Alex Karras as Mongo in Blazing Saddles. The knockout of the horse by itself could be enough, but then you have Candygram for Mongo, and the immortal line “Mongo only pawn in game of life.” Oh, and Alex Karras should be in the Hall of Fame, and I’m not talking the movie Hall of Fame.
[photo via Getty]