Denzel Washington

In the 1998 Spike Lee’s film, He Got Game, Denzel Washington starred a supporting role of being the father of NBA’s sharpshooter and first-ballot Hall of Famer Ray Allen. If you have seen him score some hoops in the movie, you’ll notice how he knows his piece, and it wasn’t just because he practiced but because that he did have some legit skills on the basketball court himself. Back when he was attending Fordham University to earn his degree, Washington was part of the Rams’ junior varsity basketball team under then future Golden State Warriors coach P.J. Carlesimo. We played from 1972 through 1974, which was two full seasons and boasted an 18-1 record in his sophomore season.

Tommy Lee Jones

Tommy Lee Jones credits as a legend in the genre of action and western movies. He’s done it many times he’s had it enough for 10-15 lifetimes. But did you know that before he kicked aliens with Will Smith in Men in Black, or hunt down the Fugitive, he was running, kicking and taking down opponents as a player of the Harvard Crimson football team? Jones was an offensive guard from the year 1966 through 1969 and became the first team All-Ivy League for the 1968 outstanding season. Prior to that, Jones and the Crimson have been undefeated; that is why 1968 became really special. Jones was also in the famous Harvard comeback “victory” vs. Yale game back in 1968, which ended 28-28 tie.

Kevin James

Kevin James played the credit role as Doug Hefferman on the CBS sitcom, The King of Queens. Who would have thought that, before his career in acting, James had a long stint in wrestling? Way before he pursued acting and making it to various movies such as Hitch and starring as a teacher turned MMA fighter in Here Comes the Boom, he was actually a member of a high school wrestling team the same as pro wrestling star Mick Foley.
In an interview, it can be recounted how James would always take down Foley back in high school. It’s safe to say that if he didn’t go after acting, he probably be inside the ring bout to bout with Foley himself.

Mark Harmon

Mark Harmon has been a staple character in hit T.V. dramas since the early 70s. We see some of his recent credit roles in the T.V. series, such as in the West Wing, NCIS, and JAG. His successful primetime career in Hollywood stemmed from his college football game back in the day. He was at Pierce College in Los Angeles to finish his associate degree, but when he transferred to UCLA, he became the Bruin’s starting quarterback for two years. In 1971, Harmon took his team off a dismissal with a record of 2-7-1 that season and in the years after, he led Bruins to an 8-3 and 9-2 record.

Vinnie Jones

Most people outside the U.K. may not know about Vinnie Jones being a tough guy once on the field, but he used to be one. Way before his bad-boy persona on the big screen. This Englishman’s signature character has somewhat typecasted him into villainous credit roles like Juggernaut in X-Men: The Last Stand. However, for his legendary role as the crazy soccer hooligan in EuroTrip, Jone’s past experience proved fit for his role. There was a significant time in his past when he worked as a professional football player of a notoriously tough team, Wimbledon, Leeds United, Sheffield United, Chelsea, Queens Park Rangers, and Wales.

Carl Weathers

Carl Weathers, in the classic Rocky film series, was credited for the role of Apollo Creed and dazzled one of the biggest stages in boxing history. Weathers, who probably made up almost half of the manly handshakes out, also shares a rich history of being an athlete himself. To people his age, this may not come as news anymore, but to most millennials, this is quite informative. We could only imagine what must have been like for him to shoot the movie and relieve his fair share on athleticism. He was once a professional football player before he hit the big screen. He played Division I football for San Diego State Aztecs and also with Oakland Raiders for at least two seasons of NFL. Also, he experienced one season of the Canadian Football League.

Lou Ferrigno

If you happen not to know yet, you should know that Lou Ferrigno, because of his incredible built, landed the title role of The Incredible Hulk series by CBS in the 1970s. It doesn’t require a high degree of imagination to see how he perfectly fits to take on the Marvel superhero character. But just before he tears off his shirt, turning mean and green, know that he was a professional bodybuilder just before all that. That explains how the tearing and bulking is so natural with him. The biggest difference between bodybuilding and acting like the Hulk for Ferrigno is swapping tanning lotion with green body paint.

Jason Segel

Jason Segel is famous for his comedic role as Marshall Eriksen in the hit T.V. sitcom, How I Met Your Mother. He was also noted for his Freaks and Geeks credit role as Judd Apatow, as well as his performance in Undeclared. Segel has just a long list of good performance, whether in acting, screenwriting, or producing T.V. to big-screen films. And here’s a fun fact. Back in high school, he was pulling heartstrings, too, by being a fan favorite on Harvard-Westlake School’s basketball team. He served as a backup center for the team, yet he still earned himself the title “Dr. Dunk” when he won a dunk contest. Segel’s team won back-to-back state championships at that time, and he was back up for the former NBA center, Jason Collins.

Mahershala Ali

Mahershala Ali won Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor for his breakthrough and credit roles on the silver screen as Juan in the film, Moonlight, and as Don Shirley in the 2018 comedy-drama film, Green Book. He definitely has a bright future in Hollywood, and it’s just iron how his career as an actor hasn’t always been part of his plan. When he finally took this shot, indeed, it was a slam dunk! Fresh from high school, Ali enrolled at Division I Saint Mary’s College, earned his degree in Mass Communication, band for awhile played college basketball before he completely ditched it for acting.

Channing Tatum

If you think that Channing Tatum just learned his moves on the set for Magic Mike, think twice. Or, if you think he just learned how to tackle while filming 21 Jump Street, think two times more. Tatum is more than just your average American guy. If you didn’t know, he spent all his formative years in Tampa and dominated his high school’s football team. In fact, he was voted to be the most athletic in their class. Besides pursuing a degree, he also went to Glenville State College in West Virginia to play college football. However, it didn’t seem to be how he thought football scholarship would be. So he dropped out and went home only to land in modeling jobs that turned to act roles.