The presence of notable wrestlers in movies these days has become something of an intriguing little tool for filmmakers to utilize. Back in days of old, the use of high profile wrestling alumni tended to be limited to non-speaking or heavily dubbed henchmen roles. And yet these days we’re almost spoiled for choice.
Dwayne Johnson has become the messiah of action franchises, and is soon to make the jump to DC. Dave Bautista has earned his spurs in a number of grafting roles, before breaking through the field into Marvel and Bond. And now John Cena’s hilarious cameo in Trainwreck has opened the door for him to be seen as a genuine actor.
But in reality, there’s nothing new here. The popularity and accessibility of wrestling is far greater these days, and the presence of the wrestler and profile of the films have naturally become a bigger talking point. So what other members of the sport preceded this modern crop of grappling actors, and how did their part in the film industry evolve as time progressed?
7. Rocky III (1982)
We start out with a simplistic cameo, and one that the era perhaps rightly demanded. Hulk Hogan was parachuted into the ‘Rocky’ franchise, most likely to boost viewers, due to his popularity in the wrestling industry at the time.
His ‘Thunder-Lips’ portrayal is little more than an extension of the persona he adopted for his wrestling matches, and whilst his brief cameo is enjoyably nostalgic, it adds little to the party, and isn’t much use other than as the answer to a quiz question.
6. The Princess Bride (1987)
Having cut his teeth with an uncredited role in Conan The Destroyer, WWE superstar Andre The Giant’s sheer imposing bulk earned him the role as Fezzick in Rob Reiner’s cult classic. It was also one of the first times a wrestler had managed to make it to the film poster/video sleeve of a major blockbuster.
Despite his obvious lack of acting talent, the character lent itself well to Andre, and his performance remains fondly remembered, despite the passage of time.
5. The Running Man (1987)
1987 proved somewhat of a bumper year for former wrestler Jesse Ventura. Having already teamed up with the Austrian Oak that year once in Predator, playing a self-styled ‘Sexual Tyrannosaurs’, he then cropped up again in this second Arnie blockbuster.
The book bears no resemblance to the original Stephen King short, so his addition as ‘Captain Freedom’ is a neat trick. Faded and disillusioned with what his industry has become, and surrounded by gimmicks and tricks to boost ratings, the character is verging on being meta with its satirical views on the links between show business and sport.
4. They Live (1988)
Rowdy Roddy Piper’s performance in this John Carpenter flick is not to be underestimated. Carpenter had made his name takin on bizarre and outlandish material, and turning it into a cult classic, and ‘They Live’ proved no exception.
Piper is riotously entertaining as the protagonist, Nada. As he fights his way through swathes of hidden alien invaders, giving his all to save humanity, he was truly one of the first wrestlers that proved to people that he and his brethren could not only handle action, but they could convince an audience there was more to them than their ringside identities.
3. Spider-Man (2002)
Still one of the forerunners of the modern wave of comic book movies, Sam Raimi’s film was a delightful blend of humor and drama, and it was a neat little trick to see him utilize the wrestling backstory that sees Peter Parker adopt his moniker.
And who should his opponent be? The Macho Man, Randy Savage, playing ‘Bonesaw’, a thinly veiled parody of himself. OK, it didn’t really set him up for a career in film, but it does make for an enjoyable 10 minutes.
2. The Punisher (2004)
The role of ‘The Russian’ is legendary in Punisher folklore, and wrestling superstar Kevin Nash proved an incredibly strong fit for the Baltic killer.
Sporting a peroxide hairdo and stripy naval t-shirt, he perfectly recreated the sadistic and predatory nature of the hitman, his massive frame tossing Tom Jane around the apartment set like a sack of potatoes.
It set him up for future work in John Wick and the Magic Mike movies, proving his screen presence was more than simply hired help.
1. Southland Tales (2006)
The Rock is worthy of a mention on the list, purely for how different this role is from anything he’d tried before, or since. His first move-busting cinematic outings as the Scorpion King in the early noughties suggested he’d be bringing nothing of note with him.
But then he cropped up in the messy ‘Southland Tales’ as actor turned producer Boxer Santoro, giving a twitchy and haunted performance as a man who knows something about him isn’t quite right, but can’t identify or fix it. His performance is one of the few highlights of the movie, which is more than can be said for Justin Timberlake.
And finally, one not so significant wrestling performance:
Blade: Trinity (2004)
In a blatantly desperate attempt to emulate Johnson’s easy transition to the big screen, WWE took the mis-step of promoting HHH from their ‘straight to DVD’ market, to a bizarre supporting role in the latest ‘Blade’ sequel.
As if the film wasn’t messy enough, the site of the impossibly big wrestler sporting odd metal fangs, and cuddling a Pomeranian whilst trash-talking Ryan Reynolds was a complete misfire.
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