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ESPN staff
In May, Kevin Garnett will officially become a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. But before his trip to Springfield, Massachusetts, the 2004 NBA MVP’s most notable accomplishment in retirement came via Hollywood, as the Big Ticket appeared in Adam Sandler’s anxiety-inducing 2019 film “Uncut Gems” (if you know, you know).
Garnett wasn’t the first NBA star to grace the big screen, with Michael Jordan playing himself in the 1996 cinematic gift that was “Space Jam,” Ray Allen landing a starring role alongside Denzel Washington in Spike Lee’s iconic 1998 film “He Got Game” and Kyrie Irving making his first foray onto the silver screen, starring as the title character in “Uncle Drew” in 2018.
With the 2021 Oscars on Sunday (8 p.m. ET, ABC) and LeBron James — who showed off his comedic chops in 2015’s “Trainwreck” — putting a new spin on MJ’s cult classic in “Space Jam: A New Legacy” this summer, we take a look at some of the most memorable roles athletes from all sports have played in movies.
Football
Jim Brown, “Any Given Sunday”
VIDEO: “Any Given Sunday”
Role: Defensive coordinator Montezuma Monroe
Memorable scene/quote: “Have you ever seen an old, punch-drunk boxer, stumbling around and drooling, with no memory of what he’s done in his life? Do you want that life, Luther?”
Other notable film credits: “Mars Attacks!,” “The Dirty Dozen”
O.J. Simpson, “The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!”
VIDEO: “The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!”
Role: Detective Nordberg
Memorable scene/quote: Simpson was the subject of a lot of physical comedy in the film, from going through a humorous series of pratfalls after being attacked in the opening of the film to being flung down several decks at Dodger Stadium at the movie’s close.
Other notable film credits: “The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear,” “Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult,” “In the Heat of the Night”
Terry Bradshaw, “Failure to Launch”
VIDEO: “Failure to Launch”
Role: Al, Matthew McConaughey’s character’s father
Memorable scene/quote: Besides being nude (a lot), Bradshaw offered this wisdom on Oprah Winfrey: “Oprah don’t know crap. Heck, when I was growing up no one had self-esteem and we turned out fine.”
Other notable film credits: “The Cannonball Run”
Alex Karras, “Blazing Saddles”
VIDEO: “Blazing Saddles”
Role: Mongo
Memorable scene/quote: “Mongo only pawn, in game of life.”
Other notable film credits: “Porky’s,” “Webster” (TV series)
Lawrence Taylor, “Any Given Sunday”
VIDEO: “Any Given Sunday”
Role: Linebacker Luther “Shark” Lavay
Memorable scene/quote: “When a man looks back on his life, he should be proud of all of it. Not just the years he spent in pads and cleats. Not just the memories of when he was great. You gotta learn that in here. Or if you don’t, you ain’t a man. You’re just another punk.”
Other notable film credits: “The Waterboy,” “Shaft”
Brett Favre, “There’s Something About Mary”
VIDEO: “There’s Something About Mary”
Role: Himself
Memorable scene/quote: Pat Healy (Matt Dillon) asking why Brett Favre has shown up while everyone is proclaiming their love for Mary (Cameron Diaz), Favre responds, “I’m in town to play the Dolphins, you dumbass.”
Other notable film credits: N/A
Dan Marino, “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective”
VIDEO: “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective”
Role: Himself
Memorable scene/quote: “You’re a weird guy, Ace. Weird guy.”
Other notable film credits: “Bad Boys 2”
Mike Ditka, “Kicking and Screaming”
VIDEO: “Kicking and Screaming”
Role: Himself
Memorable scene/quote: “I’m no juicebox boy, I’ll tell you that!” assistant coach Ditka yells at head coach Phil Weston (Will Ferrell) during a pregame argument.
Other notable film credits: “Entourage” (TV series)
Michael Irvin, “The Longest Yard” (2005)
VIDEO: “The Longest Yard”
Role: Deacon Jones
Memorable scene/quote: “The only game we play with you is ‘slap the point-shaving white boy till he cries like a baby-back b—-.'”
Other notable film credits: “Jack and Jill”
Tom Brady, “Ted 2”
VIDEO: “Ted 2”
Role: Himself
Memorable scene/quote: John (Mark Wahlberg) and Ted are looking for a donor to help Ted be a father and try to convince the four-time Super Bowl MVP in an unorthodox way. It fails, and Brady pushes John off his balcony and throws Ted down with “a perfect spiral.”
Other notable film credits: “Stuck On You”
Tony Siragusa, “The 25th Hour”
VIDEO: “The 25th Hour”
Role: Kostya
Memorable scene/quote: To Edward Norton’s character in the opening scene: “You’re bad luck. You bring bad luck on me. Always everything that can go wrong, go wrong. It’s not just you and me anymore when we go out. It’s you, me, and Doyle.”
Other notable film credits: “The Sopranos” (TV series)
Hines Ward, “The Dark Knight Rises”
VIDEO: “The Dark Knight Rises”
Role: Himself, but as a kick returner for the Gotham City football team.
Memorable scene/quote: Ward returns the opening kickoff for a touchdown against Rapid City, only to look back and see that Bane’s explosion had completely collapsed the football field behind him.
Other notable film credits: “The Walking Dead” (TV series)
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, “Skyscraper”
VIDEO: “Skyscraper”
Role: Will Sawyer
Memorable scene/quote: “It’s OK to be scared. In order to be brave, we got to be a little scared.”
Other notable film credits: “Ballers” (TV series), “Young Rock” (TV series), “Baywatch,” “Moana,” “Jumanji,” a bunch of the “Fast & Furious” movies and too many others to name.
Basketball
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, “Airplane!”
VIDEO: “Airplane!”
Role: Co-pilot Roger Murdock
Memorable scene/quote: Joey, a guest in the cockpit, recognizes him as Kareem. After denying he is the hoops star, Kareem responds to Joey’s story from his dad about Abdul-Jabbar not hustling down the court: “The hell I don’t! Listen, kid, I’ve been hearing that crap ever since I was at UCLA. I’m out there busting my buns every night! Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes!”
Other notable film credits: “BASEketball,” “Fletch”
Ray Allen, “He Got Game”
VIDEO: “He Got Game”
Role: Jesus Shuttlesworth
Memorable scene/quote: “I hate my name. What kind of a name is Jesus anyway?” Starring as Denzel Washington’s character’s son, it was a rare moment of humor in a film that had memorable scenes of the two playing one-on-one and Shuttlesworth reading his father’s letter at the conclusion of the movie.
Other notable film credits: “Harvard Man”
Wilt Chamberlain, “Conan the Destroyer”
VIDEO: “Conan the Destroyer”
Role: Bombaata
Memorable scene/quote: Chamberlain played the sidekick and protector of Conan (Arnold Schwarzenegger) who eventually betrays Conan. He also has a memorable fight with Grace Jones’ character.
Other notable film credits: N/A
Gheorghe Muresan, “My Giant”
VIDEO: “My Giant”
Role: Max Zamphirescu
Memorable scene/quote: Billy Crystal’s character randomly runs into Muresan while traveling in Romania and wants to recruit him to the movies, which Muresan doesn’t understand: “They pay for this? That’s so stupid!”
Other notable film credits: N/A
Michael Jordan, “Space Jam”
VIDEO: “Space Jam”
Role: Himself
Memorable scene/quote: “OK, somebody steal the ball, give it to me, and I’ll score before time runs out.”
Other notable film credits: N/A
Shaquille O’Neal, “Kazaam”
VIDEO: “Kazaam”
Role: Kazaam
Memorable scene/quote: “If you’ve got the itches for a sack of riches, no matter how avaricious, I’m the man that can grant your wishes.”
Other notable film credits: “Blue Chips,” “Grown Ups 2”
LeBron James, “Trainwreck”
VIDEO: “Trainwreck”
Role: Himself
Memorable scene/quote: “What’s the difference between Miami and Cleveland? It’s the same.”
Other notable film credits: “Space Jam: A New Legacy” debuts July 16, 2021
Kevin Durant, “Thunderstruck”
VIDEO: “Thunderstruck”
Role: Himself
Memorable scene/quote: “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.”
Other notable film credits: “Billions” (TV series)
Rick Fox, “Meet The Browns”
VIDEO: “Meet The Browns”
Role: Harry
Memorable scene/quote: “It means you’re talented, but not enough. You need attitude plus skill.”
Other notable film credits: “He Got Game,” “Dope”
Tracy McGrady, Gary Payton, Jason Kidd, Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash, “Like Mike”
VIDEO: “Like Mike”
Role: Themselves
Memorable scene/quote: Jason Kidd, talking to kid superstar Calvin Cambridge during an NBA game: “Calvin Cambridge, 25 points a game. Not tonight. You just need to get back to that sandbox where you came from.”
Other notable film credits: N/A
Anfernee Hardaway, “Blue Chips”
VIDEO: “Blue Chips”
Role: Butch McRae
Memorable scene/quote: Hardaway was one of three freshmen (along with Shaquille O’Neal and former Indiana basketball player Matt Nover) that Western University coach Pete Bell (Nick Nolte) brings in via questionable means to jump-start his basketball program.
Other notable film credits: N/A
Marques Johnson, “White Men Can’t Jump”
VIDEO: “White Men Can’t Jump”
Role: Raymond
Memorable scene/quote: “I take you anywhere, have you for breakfast” was Raymond’s response to Sidney Deane (Wesley Snipes) right before Deane and Billy Hoyle (Woody Harrelson) hustled him for money.
Other notable film credits: “Blue Chips,” “Forget Paris”
John Salley, “Bad Boys”
VIDEO: “Bad Boys”
Role: Fletcher
Memorable scene/quote: Fletcher, a jailed computer hacker, has a particularly funny exchange with Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) as they try to access blocked files in the police database.
Other notable film credits: “Bad Boys 2”, “Eddie”
Dennis Rodman, “Double Team”
VIDEO: “Double Team”
Role: Yaz
Memorable scene/quote: “The last guy who made fun of my hair is still trying to pull his head out of his ass.”
Other notable film credits: “Eddie,” “Simon Sez,” “The Comebacks”
Kevin Garnett, “Uncut Gems”
VIDEO: “Uncut Gems”
Role: Himself
Memorable scene/quote: “This f—ing thing makes me feel like I can fly …”
Other notable film credits: N/A
Boxing
Mike Tyson, “The Hangover”
VIDEO: “The Hangover”
Role: Himself
Memorable scene/quote: Singing Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” while trying to retrieve his stolen tiger.
Other notable film credits: “The Hangover Part 2,” “Scary Movie 5”
Tommy Morrison, “Rocky V”
VIDEO: “Rocky V”
Role: Tommy Gunn
Memorable scene/quote: Morrison plays a young fighter who Rocky takes under his wing, only to rebel due to being seen as Rocky’s “puppet” by the media. This culminates in a brutal, lengthy streetfight at the end of the movie on the streets of Philadelphia. “Hey, you don’t know me! Nobody does! I want my respect.” Rocky’s reply? ‘Well come and get it.”
Other notable film credits: “They Live”
Baseball
Derek Jeter, “The Other Guys”
VIDEO: “The Other Guys”
Role: Himself
Memorable scene/quote: “You d—, I’m Derek Jeter! You shot me!”
Other notable film credits: “The Walking Dead” (TV series)
Hockey
Cam Neely, “Dumb and Dumber”
VIDEO: “Dumb and Dumber”
Role: Sea Bass
Memorable scene/quote: “Who’s the dead man who hit me with a salt shaker?” That line was just part of what set off the memorable diner scene in the Farrelly brothers comedy.
Other notable film credits: “Me, Myself and Irene”
Wrestling
Ronda Rousey, “Entourage”
VIDEO: “Entourage”
Role: Herself
Memorable scene/quote: “You couldn’t last 30 seconds with me if your life depended on it” was Rousey’s response to Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) offering to “fight” in order to win a date.
Other notable film credits: “Furious 7,” “The Expendables 3”
Andre the Giant, “The Princess Bride”
VIDEO: “The Princess Bride”
Role: Fezzik
Memorable scene/quote: Andre the Giant had plenty of famous lines in the movie, from those on his boat trip to his fight with Wesley to the final scenes. But, “anybody want a peanut?”
Other notable film credits: “Conan the Destroyer”
Cycling
Lance Armstrong, “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story”
VIDEO: “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story”
Role: Himself
Memorable scene/quote: At the airport with Peter La Fleur (Vince Vaughn): “I’m a big fan of yours. I’ve been watching the dodgeball tournament on the Ocho. ESPN 8. I just can’t get enough of it.”
Other notable film credits: “You, Me and Dupree”
Motorsports
Dale Earnhardt Jr., “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby”
VIDEO: “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby”
Role: Himself
Memorable scene/quote: Earnhardt seeks out the autograph of Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell). Dale: “Can I get your autograph?” Ricky: “Sure, who do I make it out to?” Dale: “For me, I think you’re awesome, man. Just don’t tell any of the other drivers, all right?”
Other notable film credits: “Cars” (voice role)