He’s a martial arts champion with a master’s degree in chemical engineering. On top of that, he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to MIT. On the way to MIT, Dolph Lundgren was sidetracked into an acting career starring as arch-enemy Ivan Drago in the Rocky franchise. Lundgren was a Masters of the Universe and Universal Soldier action movie star too.
Fortune knocked quite a few times for this Swede. As an action film star, he performed his own stunts, obviously. Besides training in martial arts, he’s also a bodybuilder. Filming Rocky IV, when Sylvester Stallone told Lundgren to keep it real in the ring, Lundgren delivered a chest punch that laid Stallone up in the intensive care unit for four days with “all these nuns around,” according to the Rocky legend.
André the Giant
The famous pro-wrestler André René Roussimoff became massively popular between the 1970s and 1980s for his incredible height. Standing at 7’4,” he kind of looked like another species. His freakish stature earned him the nickname André, the Giant. Makes sense. After his wrestling career, his foreboding appearance landed him in many movies as a villain.
Naturally, he appeared alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in Conan the Destroyer, but it wasn't until he got to star in The Princess Bride that he became the most popular giant on screen ever. His character Fezzik was the one giant obstacle to cherished Westley. That performance garnered him worldwide fame.
Ellen DeGeneres
Can you imagine Ellen DeGeneres in anything other than a white suit, sitting on a white couch? Even going back years to her sitcom and standup days, it's almost impossible to imagine Ellen doing anything that's not throwing little funny and endearing quips at her enthusiastic audience.
Once upon a time how the beloved comic was actually trying out for a tennis career, clearly her sport of choice as they tend to favor a white dress code. The comedienne even appeared in the odd celebrity tennis tournament, playing once against tennis star Naomi Osaka and basketball legend Michal B.Jordan.
Mahershala Ali
Mahershala Ali, short for Mahershalalhashbaz Ali Gilmore, played basketball before he played Remy. At St. Mary’s College, he was an imposing six-foot-three Division I basketball guard. Now he’s the first black actor and the first Muslim man to win two Oscars for Best Supporting Actor. He won the first for his role as Juan in Moonlight and his second as Don Shirley in Green Book. Quite a feat! Both of the films won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
In college, Ali found himself drawn more toward Shakespearean theatre than his basketball court performances. Born and raised a sports kid, Ali became disheartened with the culture of team life at the college level. His teammates were treated like cogs, he was threatened with being shipped to the University of Denver, and nothing mattered but wins and productivity. Added to that, Ali’s father died his junior year. The sad event routed him even more into a creative career.
John Matuszak
John Matuszak had a great career as a defensive lineman who played a large part of his career with the Raiders. The athlete grabbed two Super Bowls while he was at it. When his sports career dried up, Matuszak answered many calls from Hollywood agents to play a giant in various films. Unsurprisingly, the guy is built like a house.
His most iconic role, however, was as the Sloth in “The Goonies.” That face is unforgettable. But what could have been a fruitful film career was tragically ended when the actor's life was ended at the young age of 38.