Professional athletes' careers usually begin early with hard training and first successes at a young age. Actors' careers are often similar, and many of today's big-screen stars have been in front of the camera since childhood.
Some even manage to do both: depending on the sport and fitness level, many athletes have to slow down after a steep climb at a relatively young age and then seek new challenges instead of retiring early.
Other athletes showcase their acting talents or want to reinvent themselves, change saddles or do both - sport and film. Here are five famous actors who started their careers as athletes first.
Top 5 athletes with second acting careers
Many professional athletes stay true to their sport. Even if they stop participating over time, they often go on to coach other athletes or teams and accumulate further successes.
There are many examples of this in international football. Franz Beckenbauer, Bertie Vogts, Jürgen Klinsmann, and Zinedine Zidane are just some of the famous names on the list of players who have gone on to work as coaches.
But this transition is not uncommon in other sports: Lenny Wilkens in basketball, Joe Torre in baseball, Mike Ditka in American football, or Jacques Lemaire in hockey.
Despite sporting successes, some athletes are also looking for new avenues and challenges. Here are the top ten athletes who first burst into the limelight in the ring or on the court and then onto the big screen.
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Austrian-born Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger fulfilled his American dream as "Arnie". Football, boxing, and swimming shaped his youth as a sports star, but Arnold really got into weightlifting and became Austrian junior champion in 1965 at the age of 18. He went on to a career as a bodybuilder in the United States, winning four Mr. Universe and seven Mr. Olympia titles.
These successes did not mean the end of the road for Arnie. His muscular physique proved himself well in front of the camera as Conan the Barbarian, and a starring role as the Terminator helped him become an action movie actor in 1984. Then there were many more films and box office hits: Commando, The Running Man, Predator, Red Heat, or Total Recall are just some of the films that made Arnold Schwarzenegger a major action hero of the 80s and 90s. Even more or less successful comedies like Twins, Kindergarten Cop, True Lies, or Junior didn't reduce the demand for Arnie as an actor.
Like other actors to him, Schwarzenegger moved into politics from 2003 to 2011 and was the 38th governor of the state.
Governor of California before returning to the big screen and continuing his acting career with other big-budget Hollywood productions such as Unstoppable 3 and sequels to the Terminator series.
As more film projects have been announced, Arnie will continue to flex his muscles on screen in the future.
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson
Dwayne Douglas Johnson was born into a family of wrestlers: his father and grandfather were also wrestlers, making him a third-generation superstar. He was coached by his father Wade Bowles, whose name was Rocky Johnson. He made his wrestling debut in 1995 as Flex Kavana and wasn't signed with the World Wrestling Federation until a year later.
Since 1997, Johnson has referred to himself as "The Rock". He has been a ten-time WWF or WWE champion overall. He is also known for his feud with Hulk Hogan and John Cena.
Johnson's grandfather, Peter "Supreme Warden" Maivia, was an actor in the 60s and 70s and had a small role in the James Bond film You Only Live Twice.
As an actor, The Rock was first seen in TV series, but he made his breakthrough as an action hero with two appearances in the Mummy series, so he was sold as the successor to Arnold Schwarzenegger. I wonder if you can place a bet on how long The Rock will be in the movies? You can check it out on the very best online gambling site https://casinoudendansklicens.org/betting-sider-uden-dansk-licens/.
Among his most successful films are Welcome to the Jungle and the TV series Fast and Furious. For Disney's animated film Moyana, Johnson borrowed the voice of the demigod Maui and even sang 'You're Welcome' for the accompanying soundtrack. Today he is one of the highest-paid actors in the world.
Carlos Ray Norris, aka Chuck Norris
Carlos Ray Norris as Chuck Norris is the epitome of corny humor with jokes like "If Chuck Norris wants to eat an egg, he peels a chicken!" The American, born in Oklahoma in 1940, has become well known as a martial artist and action actor.
Chuck Norris is a Tan Soo K master and began his martial arts career in 1963 with his first tournament appearance, which meant he soon met martial arts master Joe Lewis and even Bruce Lee in 1967. He learned Brazilian jiu-jitsu and made the martial arts technique of the roundhouse kick synonymous with his name.
Already in 1968, he starred in a small movie with Bruce Lee, and in 1972 he played in Death's Claw Strikes Again. At the urging of Steve McQueen, Norris took acting lessons and starred in 1977's The Breaker.
Next came such successful films as Black Tiger, Bulldozer, Octagon, and Cold Fury. Since 1993, Chuck Norris has starred in the TV series Walker, Texas Ranger. His last big-screen role was in 1995's Top Dog, though he continued to star in television roles and returned to the big screen in 2012 to appear as a guest in The Expendables 2.
Chuck Norris is a conservative evangelical Christian and is an active member of the US Republican Party. He has published several martial arts books and has developed two martial arts styles of his own. Numerous jokes about Chuck Norris, circulating the internet for years and alluding to his many roles as the consummate hero, have been given a boost by the fact that in August 2017 he suffered and survived two heart attacks in one day.
Jason Statham
Jason Statham is best known to viewers and action fans as Transporter and was a partner in the Unstoppable series.
However, in his film career, the Briton was a professional diver and was a member of the British national team for twelve years. As a top athlete, he reached number 12 in the world rankings and was able to celebrate further successes.
Guy Ritchie first brought Statham to the screen in 1998 for Jack, Queen, King, and GraAS and continued to make films with him in the following years. The big breakthrough came in 2002 with Luc Besson and Louis Leterrier's The Transporter.
Using his martial arts skills in vin Chun, karate and kickboxing, Jason Statham directed the fight scenes in the trilogy himself. After The One, he starred again in the 2007 martial arts film as an opponent of Jet Li.
Other action films followed, such as Chaos, Crank, Crank 2, Bank Job and 13. Jason Statham still insists on doing most of the stunts and fight scenes in his films himself.
Ronda Rousey
Ronda Jean Rousey has also been called the Worst Woman on the Planet.
The American-born Californian is a successful wrestler, mixed martial arts fighter, and judoka. The Ultimate Fighting Championship signed her as the first woman and Rosie became the first UFC titleholder.
Her biggest successes in MMA include the UFC Women's Lightweight Championship and Raw Women's Championship. Ronda Rousey has also competed in judo at the Olympics and has been with World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. since 2014.
As an actress, she has appeared on screen in Unbridled 3, February 7, and Mile 22. She has published her autobiography titled My Fight / Your Fight and the documentary The Ronda Rousey Story accompanies her journey to the UFC Championship.
How else do athletes make money?
It doesn't always have to be in the limelight or in the spotlight. Anyone who has a lucrative sports contract during a professional athlete's career and saves or invests profitably will take care of it later and can probably rest on their laurels.
But there are also athletes who have the odd or "regular" major and part-time job and earn their living as actors with pomp when they are not competing in the Olympics and other top competitions.
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