What does an athlete do when he can’t catch a football or put on a pair of skates anymore? Many choose to act. That doesn’t mean they’re all good at it, and it doesn’t even mean they did well at the box office. Still, at least they have options. Here’s a list of acting athletes – certainly the list is longer than what we bring you today, but that only makes room for the sequel! One thing I did find a little interesting was how there are more male athletes crossing over to acting the female.

1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – Starred or appeared in numerous television shows including Airplane!, The Stand, 21 Jump Street and Uncle Buck.
2. Julius Erving – Dr. J appeared in The Fish that saved Pittsburgh.
3. Reggie Jackson - Lots of guest appearances on television shows where he played himself (if that’s acting), plus movies such as Naked Gun 2 and Richie Rich.
4. Brian Bosworth – Started in the movies Stone Cold, Three Kings, the remake of The Longest Yard and many more.  plus made numerous television appearance.
5. Brett Favre – Starred in Something About Mary.
6. Buster Crabbe – The former Olympic swimmer appeared in Tarzan and Flash Gordon.
7. Wayne Gretzky – Appeared in D2, The Mightly Ducks.
8. Jim Brown - Appeared in The Dirty Dozen, Ice Station Zebra, The Running Man, and Mars Attacks among others.
9. Bobby Bonilla – Appeared in Rookie of the Year and played himself in a guest appearance on the sitcom Living Single.
10. Mitch Gaylord – The Olympic gymnast tried to act in the movie American Anthem.
11. Lynn Holly Johnson – The former figure skater starred in Ice Castles a movie about…well..figure skating.
12. Roger Clemens – Appeared in Kingpin.
13. Alex Karras – A long acting resume includes Blazing Saddles, FM, Victor Victoria, Porky’s, and who could forget, Webster.
14. Dan Marino – Appeared in Ace Ventura Pet Detective and Bad Boys II.
15. Joe Namath – Who can forget his guest appearance on The Brady Bunch? Also Acted in such movies as Avalanche Express, Chatanooga Choo Choo and The Last Rebel.
16. Dennis Rodman – Appeared in Double Team.
17. Wilt Chamberlin - A variety show staple in the ’70’s, he also acted in such notable films as Conan the Destroyer.
18. Jim Brown- Acted in the Dirty Dozen and Rio Conchos among others.
19. Kelly Slater – The pro -surfer appeared in Baywatch.
20. Cam Neely – Acted in Dumb and Dumber.
21. Bubba Smith – You might remember him from his outstanding roles in the Police Academy movies.
22. O.J. Simpson – Though his greatest role may have been getting a jury to believe he didn’t murder his ex-wife, OJ Simpson also appeared in Naked Gun, Roots and 1st and Ten.
23. Arnold Schwarzenegger – Who can forget his roles as Terminator, Conan the Barbarian and the Governor of Cal-ee-fornia.
24. Lawrence Taylor – Appeared in “Any Given Sunday,” and “The Waterboy.”
25. Chuck Connors – Numerous appearnces and starring roles most noteably The Rifleman.
26. Shaquille O’Neal – Stellar roles in Kazam and Steel. (That was sarcasm, folks.)
27. Carl Weathers – Acted in the movie Rocky.
28. Ed Marinaro – The former Heisman finalist is best known for his role in “Hill Street Blues.”
29. Merlin Olsen – Who can forget him in Little House on the Prairie.
30. Ray Allen – Acted in “He Got Game”
31. Bob Ueker – Appeared in many commercials, television shows and films including Major League.
32. Terry Bradshaw - Acted in Failure to Launch and The Cannonball Run in addition to numerous television appearances.
33. Fred Dryer – You probably remember him in Hunter.
34. Lance Armstrong – Played himself in Dodgeball.
35. Andre the Giant – Acted in The Princess Bride.

Looking for more articles and images from the world of sports? visit sister site, Sports Crunch.