He cinema and the Olympic Games are closely related, not only because of the number of films that have been made about the Games, but also because there are numerous Olympic athletes throughout history who have also appeared on the big screen. Some of the films most famous about the games are Olympicsby Leni Riefenstahl, published in 1938 on the occasion of the Games held in Berlin. But there is also a more recent one, Richard Jewell based on real case facts.
But there are not only films with the theme of the Olympic Games but some of the actors who have dominated the billboards have also been able to crown Olympic podiums. In fact, many athletes have made the transition to cinema by taking advantage of fame and physical abilities, something that has happened in different sports disciplines and very diverse eras.
Without going any further, in Paris 2024 there is an Irish swimmer of only 23 years old, Daniel Wiffenwhich has not only stood out in the Olympic Games with a gold medal and one bronze medal in the 1500-meter freestyle and the 800-meter freestyle, respectively, but he also has an interesting past in the world of entertainment. The swimmer himself has acknowledged that he had a brief career as an actor in one of the most famous series of the last decade: Game of ThronesThe athlete revealed in an interview that, along with his twin brother Nathan and his sister Elizabeth, he participated as an extra in one of the most iconic scenes of the series, known as the “Red wedding”.
However, one of the most iconic examples of actors and athletes is Johnny WeissmullerAmerican swimmer who won six Olympic medals in the Games of 1924 and 1928 and for the first time went under one minute in the 100 freestyle and under five minutes in the 400. Weissmuller was born in Romania in 1904, but soon emigrated to the United States where he began to stand out as a swimmer. Weissmuller also played water polo and, after a brief stint as a model, became a Tarzan and recorded up to 12 films.
Years later it appeared Bob AndersonBritish born in 1922 who dedicated himself to fencing from a young age and went to World War II. After the conflict, Anderson dedicated himself to the highest level and represented his country in the Helsinki Games, 1952. At that time, he was already in demand by the cinema to teach actors how to handle weapons. But he didn’t stop there and became an actor. In fact, his most notable role came in Star Wars, where he played the role of Darth Vader in combatat the express wish of actor Mark Hamill. That was his only role, but he also collaborated in the fourth and fifth installments, as well as in James Bond films and The Lord of the Rings.
For its part, Herman Brix He was born in 1906 in the United States and died at the age of 101, and in that life he was able to win an Olympic medal and become an actor in Hollywood. This famous athlete won the silver medal in shot put at the Amsterdam Games, 1928. Later, during the preparation of the 1932 Los Angeles Games, he was called by Paramount since he was chosen to be Tarzan, but an injury left him without the role and without the Games. He was replaced by another athlete, Johnny Weismuller. But things did not end there and he later brought to the big screen Bruce Bennet and worked in numerous films in the 1930s and 1940s. Her highlight came when she collaborated on two films with Humphrey Bogart, ‘Dark Path’ and ‘The Treasure of the Sierra Madre’.
Already in the 50s Bud Spencer appeared which was starred by Carlo PedersoliItalian 100m champion for several years. This earned him the chance to represent Italy at two Olympic Games. In Helsinki and Melbourne, in the 1998 editions 1952 y 1956Pedersoli competed in the 100m and 200m freestyle events, but did not win a medal or swim in the final. But in the 1960s he began to focus solely on cinema.
Years later the first woman appears who is none other than Mary Lou Rettonthe queen of The Angels winning five medals at the Olympic Games. This gymnast born in Virginia in 1968 was barely 16 years old when she became the star of American sport, but it was something really ephemeral. Afterwards, she dedicated herself to participating in several American series, with a “sweetness” that captivated the spectators, in fact, she appeared in up to nine series from 1985 to 2018.
Talking about sports and television or cinema is talking about basketball and, of course, names like Shaquille O’Neal o Michael Jordan. O’Neal was born in New Jersey in 1972 and was a flamboyant personality in his sport, able to alternate between the elite of basketball in the NBA and a parallel career in music and cinema. O’Neal, who won four NBA rings with the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat, was also an Olympic gold medalist in Atlanta 96. But Jordan is not far behind, in fact, the best basketball player of all time, also tried his hand at cinema as the protagonist of a film, Space JamMichael Jordan, who has two Olympic gold medals from the 1984 and 1996 Games, was the star of a feature film promoted by Warner Bros. in which he featured cartoon characters.
But they are not the only ones, since Ronda Rouseyan Olympic judoka who won a bronze at the 2008 Beijing Games, has gone on to have a distinguished career in action films. Following her Games appearances, Rousey has appeared in films such as “The Expendables 3,” “The Last Stand,” “The Last Stand,” “The Last Stand,” “The Last Stand.”Fast and Furious 7” and “Mile 22”, taking advantage of his martial arts experience to perform his own action scenes. It should be remembered that, both in Athens 2004 as in Beijing 2008 She competed and took home a bronze in her final appearance, becoming the first American to win a medal in the sport. She then moved into mixed martial arts and competed in the UFC and WWE.
But if we talk about personalities who have participated in the Olympic Games and, in reality, are better known for their role as actors, this cannot be missed. Jason Stahamwho competed in the diving category at the Barcelona Olympics and finished twelfth. It should be remembered that Statham began competing in diving but achieved his greatest sporting glory when he finished twelfth in the diving category at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. After that, Jason was signed by a modelling agency and auditioned for ‘Lock And Stock’ (1998), impressing Guy Ritchie so much that he also cast him in ‘Snatch’ (2000).
Other non-Olympic sports
There are many footballers who have become actors, such as Eric Cantona, who has worked with directors such as Ken Loach, and Vinnie Jones, who is an inseparable partner of Guy Ritchie. But there are also actors of recognised prestige who could have been footballers. A clear case is Sean Connery who was given a contract to join Manchester United’s reserve team but turned it down because he felt that an actor’s career was longer than that of an athlete and that he had more options in the former.
For its part, Matt Smithinstead of inThe house of the dragoncould have been in the English First Division, but a back injury prevented it after having already played for the youth teams of Northampton Town FC, Nottingham Forest FC and Leicester City FC.
