I was watching the remake of the Longest Yard last week that starred Adam Sandler, Burt Reynolds, Michael Irvin and a number of former NFL stars and it got to me thinking about what former NFL players tried to make it on the big screen — in Hollywood. Quickly I came up with a list in no particular order:
- Jim Brown
- Brian Bosworth
- Michael IrvIn
- Bubba Smith
- Deacon Jones
- Alex Karras
- Fred Dryer
- Howie Long
- Brett Favre
- Jim Kelly
- Dan Marino
- Dick Butkus
Funny . . . the list is a little longer than I thought.
- Who did I leave out?
- Who is your favorite NFL player turned Hollywood star?
- Who do you think is the worst actor that came from the NFL?
- I wonder if anyone of them won an Academy Award or another award
I look forward to reading your comments.
janet says:
Howie Long,,,I have a huge crush on him.
You forgot OJ.
Ed Sugar says:
You left off the first NFL star to cross over from the gridiron to the silver screen, Woody Strode. His first film was in 1941 and he remained a visible character actor throughout the ’70s and ’80s, and has become widely regarded (along with Sidney Poitier and Brock Peters) as one of the most important black film actors of his time.
Also lets not forget that before he got himself into legal peccadilloes, Orenthal James Simpson had a successful acting career.
Fee Sepahi says:
Hi Merrrill,
Ed, great point about O.J.!
Hooper and Cannonball Run both bring to mind Terry Bradshaw for me…
Fee
howard burack says:
Jim Brown in the Dirty Dozen is my favourite. Merrill, today’s subject on your blog begs one question from me. How bored were you during the day that you watched the lousy remake of a great movie?
Merrill Dubrow says:
Howard,
Love Jim Brown in the Dirty Dozen. Great question – I was pretty bored!
Stay well.
Merrill
Bob Graham says:
You’re forgetting Ray Nitschke who had a small role in the original “Longest Yard”. Actually there are a lot of former NFL pro who were in the original (no, I didn’t know this off the top of my head, I had to look it up): Mike Henry, Joe Kapp, Pervis Allen, Ernie Wheelright, and Ray Ogden.
Also MIA from your list (and these I didn’t look up): Merlin Olson and my personal favorite, Rosey Greer star of “The Thing With Two Heads”.
A friend of mine at RadioShack told me about the filming of the Howie Long/Terri Hatcher commercials back in the day. Apparently Howie was terribly self conscious and would work hard to memorize all of his lines before showing up on the set. Terri would walk in, quickly look at the script and breeze through it.
Rick Johnson says:
As a Steeler fan I must add Terry Bradshaw. What about Joe Klecko, and Dick Butkus?
Peter Rose says:
While Karras’ punchout of the horse in Blazing Saddles is easily the best performance by a former football player, how can we leave out Carl Weathers (Apollo Creed)?
I am presuming Brett Favre’s cameo in There’s Something About Mary doesn’t count.
John Castellano says:
Merlin Olsen – A member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and College Football Hall of Fame, Olsen is remembered by many as either the spokesman for FTD Florists or Jonathan Garvey on Little House on the Prairie. Olsen played defensive tackle in the NFL for 15 years, going to the Pro Bowl in 14 of those seasons.
John Castellano says:
OJ Simpson – While he’s best known these days as a murderer, O.J. Simpson was once a respected running back in the NFL. After winning the Heisman Trophy in college, Simpson would be drafted by the Buffalo Bills and play in six Pro Bowls. A first-ballot Hall of Famer in 1985, Simpson would go on to star in a number of films and television commercials. His most memorable roles came in a series of Hertz commercials and as Nordberg in the Naked Gun trilogy.