Professional wrestling and movies share so many similarities, just with different sets. Hence, it should come as no surprise that some of these wrestlers might try their hands at actual acting. However, that doesn’t mean that it’s an easy or natural transition.
When it comes to having a roster of some of the most well-conditioned, shredded athletes in the world, the WWE is at the top of the charts. While most WWE superstars remain in the squared circle as pro wrestlers, many of its biggest stars over the years have shown they are multifaceted talents, working as actors in some Hollywood movies.
And while some of these wrestlers who became actors should have stayed in the ring, some of them, especially recently, have hung up their boots and become successful movie stars. These wrestlers who became actors were able to make a butter-smooth transition from the mat to the silver screen, where their fans can now enjoy seeing them in larger-than-life roles.
Without further ado, ranging from the oldest (and probably the least successful), here is a list of the biggest wrestlers who became actors.
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The Most Famous Wrestlers Who Became Actors
1. Hulk Hogan
Yeah, that’s right. It all started with Hulkamania, although he technically wasn’t the first of the wrestlers who became actors.
Professional wrestlers had long been part of movies, but they weren’t exactly mainstream. In 1959, Swedish wrestler Tor Johnson was one of the stars of Plan 9 from Outer Space. The 1960s and’ 70s also had luchadors like El Santo in some pretty bad horror luchador films. However, it was in the ’80s that wrestlers in movies started becoming mainstream.
1982’s Rocky III is the best early example, with the introduction of Hulk Hogan, playing an early opponent of Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky Balboa, a showboat named Thunderlips.
This was before the rise of Hulkamania in WWF (now known as WWE). And a few years later, when Hogan’s rise took over professional wrestling, his acting career really took off.
Throughout the late 80s and early 90s, Hogan had a string of movies that did well on VHS, such as 1989’s No Holds Barred, 1991’s Suburban Commando, and 1993’s Mr. Nanny.
If you compare his films to those of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson or Dave Bautista today, you’re not going to be impressed. There are some real duds in there. However, what makes it impressive is what Hogan did with his ability to take a niche territorial form of entertainment and turn it into a colossal mainstream phenomenon. For him to even be in movies, whether he was good in them or not, spoke to just how much of a game-changer he was.
Therefore, this earned him the OG medal when it came to wrestlers who became actors.
2. Andre the Giant
Hulk Hogan wasn’t the only one of the wrestlers who became actors to try his hand at acting in the 1980s. 1987’s The Princess Bride is undoubtedly a modern classic that has been shared over generations, and at its heart stands the larger-than-life Andre the Giant, a wrestler so awe-inspiring that he was a household name.
What his nemesis Hulk Hogan would do as a lead in films was impressive, but Andre, while not the lead here, was in a huge Hollywood film filled with huge Hollywood names. Directed by Rob Reiner and starring the likes of Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Wallace Shawn, and Billy Crystal, Andre played Fezzik, an employee of Shawn’s bad guy Vizzini.
His presence and his kindness left his co-stars in awe, with many coming back to be interviewed for the Andre the Giant documentary in 2018, making him one of the biggest wrestlers who became actors. Literally.
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3. Roddy Piper
A year after Andre the Giant’s Hollywood feature, one of wrestling’s best villains became the hero, when “Rowdy” Roddy Piper landed the lead role in John Carpenter’s They Live. He had starred earlier that year in the cult favorite, Hell Comes to Frogtown, but under Carpenter’s direction, he thrived as the bubble gum-chewing, ass-kicking drifter battling aliens in this Reagan-era satire.
Piper, who was one of wrestling’s great promo masters, showed that he could be a serious lead, not just with his acting, but in action scenes as well. This makes him one of the top wrestlers who became actors.
4. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
In the late ’90s, wrestling transitioned into the Attitude Era, a regime not unlike an ultra-violent and hyper-sexualized soap opera. This meant everyone was super busy and there was no space for wrestlers to try their hands at becoming leading men.
As it was, someone was cooking something, and no one could smell it.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson rose to the top of the WWF with charisma and coolness on a level previously unseen. It led to him appearing in The Mummy Returns in 2001 as The Scorpion King, before reprising the role as the lead in The Scorpion King in 2002. While the films were a bit clunky, they served their purpose, which was to show that Johnson possessed that “it” factor, not just in a wrestling ring but on a movie screen as well.
Soon after, he left wrestling behind for acting. There were struggles at first with okay films like The Rundown (where Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared in a Passing of the Torch cameo) and Walking Tall, then he really hit it big with the Fast and the Furious franchise and other roles such as in Moana and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. He is now arguably the biggest star on the planet and the god of wrestlers who became actors.
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5. John Cena
After The Rock, several other wrestlers tried to repeat his success, but none had much luck with brewing the successful wrestlers who became actors elixir. We will not mention Triple H showing up in the awful Blade: Trinity, or CM Punk and Kevin Nash in other feature films (oops!). Edge was surprisingly decent in Vikings, though. Yeah, he was there, in seasons 5 and 6.
However, one WWE star who managed to break through was John Cena. After “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and The Rock left WWE, John Cena became the face of the company. Early in his acting career, he tried to become an action star with forgettable films like The Marine, but he didn’t have much success. Then came Trainwreck, followed by lead roles in blockbuster films and smaller comedies.
Over the last decade, Cena has won over the general public as one of the most successful wrestlers who became actors with parts in Daddy’s Home, Bumblebee, Blockers, F9, and The Suicide Squad. He can be in a superhero movie like The Rock, but he has no qualms with completely humiliating himself for a laugh either.
6. Dave Bautista
If John Cena was the biggest star in WWE during the mid and late 2000s, Dave Bautista was right behind him. And, of course, you will be forgiven for thinking that he would have difficulty transitioning into becoming a major actor. He doesn’t have the traditional babyface looks – he was known as The Animal, after all – and was already in his mid-40s when he tried to make it in Hollywood. But make it he did, and in a very simple way.
Rather than trying to replicate what The Rock had done and insert himself into leading roles straight away, Bautista decided to start out as a supporting star in big projects. He killed it as the hilarious Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy, duked it out with Daniel Craig’s James Bond in Spectre, and had a small but pivotal role in Blade Runner 2049. By letting his performances get him recognition rather than his name, Bautista allowed his career to gradually grow.
This has finally paid off, as he is now a leading man in Knock at the Cabin, one of 2023’s top movies so far.
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Wrapping Up Famous Wrestlers Who Became Actors
Wrestlers who tried to act were once seen as a joke, or rewarded with a backhanded compliment like, “He’s not bad for a wrestler.” Now wrestlers occupy slots as three of Hollywood’s most successful actors.
To recap, here is a list of the most famous wrestlers who have become actors:
- Hulk Hogan
- Andre the Giant
- Roddy Piper
- Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
- John Cena
- Dave Bautista
These wrestlers have shown unequivocally that they are not just muscle-head dolts. If anything, their profession and what they do in the ring on a weekly basis makes them more ready than most when it comes time to take a swing at Hollywood. Wrestlers who became actors have conquered television and film in every genre, becoming box office champions and household names.
Sometime soon, it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see one of them hoisting Oscar gold at the Academy Awards. And as they continue to thrive, more wrestlers will no doubt try their hand at acting.
