Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson isn’t the only pro wrestling star to flex their muscles in Hollywood.
In fact, some of the most iconic films of all time have cast wrestlers alongside their leading men and women. For example, Arnold Schwarzenegger had WWE Hall of Famer Jesse Ventura backing him up in the 1987 film Predator.
It’s just been revealed AEW star Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) has been cast in the hotly-anticipated Happy Gilmore 2, the sequel to Adam Sandler’s hit golfing comedy. Adam seems to like casting wrestlers in his films, given that Kevin Nash, The Great Khali, ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin and Bill Goldberg appeared in his movie The Longest Yard.
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While it’s not known what MJF’s role in Happy Gilmore 2 will be, it’s safe to say he’s joining a Royal Rumble of wrestlers who have popped up in big movies. And who can blame them?
(Image: Moviemax)
It’s probably nice to have a break from all the chokeslams. Daily Star has rounded up some of the best film stints from pro wrestlers.
Hulk Hogan
(Image: MGM/UA Entertainment Co.)
When Hulk Hogan decided to star as Thunderlips in Rocky 3, he got fired from the WWF by promoter Vincent McMahon. But the decision would prove to be a good one as it shot him to fame.
In the film, Thunderlips was a wrestler who fought beloved boxer Rocky Balboa (played by Sylvester Stallone) in a charity fight. In the match, Hulk’s character tosses the much-smaller Rocky around the ring like a ragdoll but Rocky manages to get him in a headlock and slam him onto the canvas.
The Rock
One of The Rock’s most famous Hollywood roles came in Fast Five (2011) – the fifth flick in the Fast and Furious franchise. It the film, he plays US agent Hobbs who gets into a brutal fight with Vin Diesel’s character Dominic Toretto.
He’d go on to reprise his role in Furious 7 four years later, but the WWE titan has been in a ton of films so it’s hard to pick just one. Many of these, such as Jumanji and DC League of Super-Pets also star his pal, comedian Kevin Hart.
Dave Bautista
(Image: Columbia Pictures)
Bautista played retiring replicant Sapper Morton in Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049 (2017) – a sequel to the original Blade Runner in 1982. The wrestler’s character gets killed by Ryan Gosling’s character K in the movie.
It wasn’t a bad role to get, considering the film went on to get five Oscar nominations and a very respectable 87% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It wasn’t Bautista’s first big movie role though, because he appeared in James Bond flick Spectre alongside Daniel Craig.
He’s proven himself quite the Marvel star. He’s also appeared as Drax in the Guardians of the Galaxy series and Avengers films.
John Cena
(Image: Paramount Pictures)
It turns out WWE favourite John Cena isn’t invisible (“You can’t see me”) as he’s appeared in several major pictures – including The Suicide Squad and Fast X, which came out last year. It means he followed his WWE rival The Rock by swapping the ring for the Fast and Furious franchise.
In fact, the pair ended up having a feud as Cena had previously hit out at Johnson for leaving WWE for an acting career. He later did the same thing himself and admitted he was “short-sighted and selfish”.
He has since appeared in Transformers film Bumblebee, where he played former Army Colonel and agent Jack Burns. He fit right into the role, and it seems he has an infinity for playing army men as he also played one in The Marine (2006), his film debut.
Andre The Giant
Andre the Giant famously headlined Wrestlemania III in 1987 with Hulk Hogan, and a year later won the WWF (Now WWE) Championship. But outside of the ring, the beloved wrestling icon is best known for his role in the 1987 film called The Princess Bride.
Known for his epic size due to gigantism, the wrestler played giant Fezzik in the film. He loved it so much that he made his wrestling pals watch an advanced copy of the VHS on more than once occasion.
Jesse Ventura
(Image: Corbis via Getty Images)
Jesse Ventura’s acting debut was pretty epic considering it was alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger. He played a loudmouth soldier called Blain in Predator, one of the most iconic sci-fi films of all time.
He obviously did well in the movie, which saw Arnold (Dutch Schaefer) and his paramilitary rescue team encounter the deadly Predator in the rainforest. They got on so well that Ventura later bagged a role in The Running Man, another of Arnie’s famous flicks.
Candice Michelle
(Image: 20th Century Fox)
Before becoming a WWE sex symbol in 2004, Candice Michelle appeared on the big screen in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. She plays one of the dodgeball dancers in the Ben Stiller/Vince Vaughn comedy.
You’ll find her wearing a skimpy pink outfit and showing off her moves alongside her fellow dancers in multiple scenes.
Kevin Nash
(Image: Paramount)
Kevin Nash appeared as Super Shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, and made more money in the movie than he did in his first year of wrestling. The WWE icon revealed that actor Kevin Peter Hall *(who played Predator) had originally landed the part.
However, he died in 1991 while the costume was being made, so they need someone of a similar physique to fill in. Nash told Wrestlezone: “What I heard was that Kevin Paul [Kevin Peter Hall], I believe that’s his name — [the actor that] played the Predator, whoever played Harry and the Hendersons. He passed [away].
“They had already started making the Super Shredder costume. They needed somebody that was close to seven feet, and at that point, they had me listed as seven feet, so when they saw me on TV and saw that I was coming in the area. So they sent those guys out to look at me. I made more money doing Ninja Turtles than I did wrestling my first year. Just my payment for my role and the time on set.”
Roddy Piper
In 1988, Roddy ‘Rowdy’ Piper played the lead role in John Carpenter’s action-horror flick They Live. It follows a drifter called Nada who stumbles upon a horrifying discovery.
After acquiring a special pair of sunglasses, he’s able to see that evil creatures are masquerading as humans and are tricking the public via subliminal messaging. They Live scored 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Piper went on to appear in another cult classic, Hell Comes To Frogtown.
Chris Jericho
(Image: The Asylum)
Ring legend Chris Jericho played Bruce the Ride Attendant in Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! alongside Tara Reid. Unfortunately, his character in the movie gets eaten by a shark on the rollercoaster.
He’s clearly comfortable around blood as he’s also appeared in slasher films Terrifier 2 and 3. And on TV, he popped up on the Masked Singer.
CM Punk
(Image: Netflix)
CM Punk surprised a lot of fans with his acting chops in this 2019 supernatural horror flick, where he plays a troubled man called Don who renovates an old home for himself and his wife.
He’s no stranger to playing the heel and this is exactly what happens in the Netflix movie. He told Entertainment Weekly: “I play a character, Don Koch, who is expecting his first child with his wife, and he buys a fixer-upper out in the suburbs to kind of start over with this wife, and as you watch the movie, you realize what starting over to him means. Don might not be the best guy in the world, you know.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
