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Olympians Who Acted in Movies (228)

Athlete Nation(s) Sport(s) Era Notes
Trond Abrahamsen NOR IHO 1980—1984 Hockeyfeber
Lisa-Marie Allen USA FSK 1980 Small part in Blades of Glory.
Ray Allen USA BKB 2000 He Got Game
Nils Althin SWE BOX 1932 Thin Ice; It’s a Pleasure; Around the World
Gerald Ames GBR FEN 1912 The Prisoner of Zenda; 70 silent movies
Bob Anderson GBR FEN 1952 Notably as a light-sabre fight double of Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back.
Jodi Anderson USA ATH 1984 Personal Best
Shani Anderson GBR ATH 2000 Fast Girls
Kurt Angle USA WRE 1996 Warrior; and others
Aziz Asli IRI FBL 1964 Conquerors of the Desert; A Bridge to Paradise; Iron Claw; Keshtye Noah; Jasem; Tunnel; Farewell to Tehran; Never Without Love; Safar; The Double-Agent
Brahim Asloum FRA BOX 2000 Victor Young Perez
Essam Bahig (DNS) EGY FBL 1952 Appeared in the 1964 Egyptian film "Tale of the City"
Snowy Baker ANZ
AUS		 BOX/DIV/SWM 1908 King Baggot
Charles Barkley USA BKB 1992—1996 Notably in Space Jam.
Bruce Baumgartner USA WRE 1984—1996 Foxcatcher
Hans-Jürgen Bäumler GER
FRG		 FSK 1960—1964 35 credits on IMDb from 1965-2019
Earl Bell USA ATH 1976—1988 Personal Best
Wade Bell USA ATH 1968 Without Limits
Nino Benvenuti ITA BOX 1960 Alive or Preferably Dead; Mark Shoots First; Carnera: The Walking Mountain
Ernesto Beren PHI GAR 1968 Acrobat Masters (AKA Men of Action Meet Women of Dracula)
Larry Bird USA BKB 1992 Space Jam
Jeff Blatnick USA WRE 1984 Foxcatcher
Jan Blažek CZE
TCH		 BKB 1972 Small role in Amadeus.
Judy Blumberg USA FSK 1980—1984 Small part in Blades of Glory.
Duane Bobick USA BOX 1972 Billy Boy
Tom Bogs DEN BOX 1964 Og så er der bal bagefter
Brian Boitano USA FSK 1984—1994 Small part in Blades of Glory.
Mark Breland USA BOX 1984 The Lords of Discipline; Summer of Sam; and others
Herman Brix USA ATH 1928 Notably as Tarzan in several movies, under the pseudonym Bruce Bennett.
Pongsiree Bunluewong THA EVE 2004 God of Death's Holiday; The Guys; Jan Dara: The Finale; The Outrage
Michael Carr-Hartley KEN SHO 1972—1984 Adventures of a Jungle Boy (TV Series – 13 episodes); Zanzabuku
Vince Carter USA BKB 2000 Like Mike
Suzy Chaffee USA ALP 1968 Fire And Ice
Cassius Clay USA BOX 1960 The Greatest
Sasha Cohen USA FSK 2002—2006 Small part in Blades of Glory.
Nadia Comăneci ROU GAR 1976—2004 The Veil
Bart Conner USA GAR 1976—1984 Peaceful Warrior; Death and Texas; Stick It
Henry Cooper GBR BOX 1952 Notably as John Gully MP in Royal Flash.
Gene Corri GBR BOX/Referee 1908 As himself in the Alfred Hitchcock melodrama, "The Ring". Appeared in two other movies.
Robin Cousins GBR FSK 1976—1980 The Cutting Edge
Buster Crabbe USA SWM 1928—1932 Multiple roles as Tarzan, Flash Gordon, and Buck Rogers; and others
Jean, Marquis d'Orgeix FRA EJP 1948—1952 Under the pseudonym Jean Pâqui.
Tim Daggett USA GAR 1984 Stick It
Tom Daley GBR DIV 2008—2020 Sharknado 5
Muriel Davis-Grossfeld USA GAR 1956—1964 Had starring role in a television movie "El Coyote" and had a 7-year contract with RKO studios
Michel de Carvalho GBR LUG 1972—1976 Notably as Faraj in the Oscar winning Lawrence of Arabia under the pseudonym Michel Rey.
Lenika De Simone ESP GAR 2008 Stick It
Donna de Varona USA SWM 1960—2000 Fighting Back
Kazimierz Deyna POL FBL 1972—1976 Notably as Paul Wolchek in Escape to Victory.
Paul Dickenson GBR ATH 1976—1980 Fast Girls
Babe Didrikson USA ATH 1932 Pat And Mike
Vlade Divac SRB
SCG
YUG		 BKB/OKS 1988—2017 Space Jam; Eddie
Pat Donnelly USA ATH 1976 Personal Best
Donn Draeger USA KEN 1964 Martial arts coordinator and stunt double for Sean Connery in "You Only Live Twice"
Yury Dumchev RUS
URS		 ATH 1980—1988 25 credits on IMDb from 1987-2013
Stan Dziedzic USA WRE 1976 Foxcatcher
Trudy Ederle USA SWM 1924 Swim Girl Swim
Jonathan Edwards GBR ATH 1988—2000 Fast Girls
Jack Elder USA LUG 1972 Small part in "It Happened at the World's Fair" (1962)
Patrick Ewing USA BKB 1984—1992 The Exorcist III; Space Jam; Forget Paris
Ralph Faulkner USA FEN/Referee 1932 Stuntman and sword fight choreographer in multiple movies between 1917-1971.
Al Feuerbach USA ATH 1972—1976 Personal Best
Peggy Fleming USA FSK 1964—1968 Small part in Blades of Glory.
Alex Fong HKG SWM 2000 Has appeared in over 50 films in his native Hong Kong
George Foreman USA BOX 1968 The Fighter; Let’s Do It Again
Joe Frazier USA BOX 1964 Home of Angels; and others
Dan Gable USA WRE 1972 The Wrestler
Mitch Gaylord USA GAR 1984 American Anthem; Batman Forever as stunt double for Chris O’Donnell
Anton Geesink NED IOC/JUD 1964—2010 Zoals u wenst, mevrouw; Pipo de Clown; Noord-Zuid... aan-uit!; De grote vriezer; I grandi condottieri; Rififi in Amsterdam
Giuseppe Gentile ITA ATH 1968—1972 Medea
Fortune Gordien USA ATH 1948—1956 The Egyptian, North to Alaska
Alain Gottvallès FRA SWM 1960—1964 The Man Who Betrayed the Mafia; Mission spéciale á Caracas
Cliff Gray USA BOB 1928—1932 Over 20 credits on IMDb from 1914 to 1922 though most are mistakenly attributed to a songwriter of the same name
Florence Griffith Joyner USA ATH 1984—1988 Run For The Dream: The Gail Devers Story
Emam Ali Habibi IRI WRE 1956—1960 Appeared in five films between 1968 and 1970
Yoshihiro Hamaguchi JPN SWM 1952 16 credits on IMDb from 1955-66
Dorothy Hamill USA FSK 1976 Small part in Blades of Glory.
Scott Hamilton USA FSK 1980—1984 Small part in Blades of Glory.
Tim Hardaway USA BKB 2000 Forget Paris
George Harris USA JUD 1964 Matchless
Jean Heeremans BEL FEN 1936 11 credits on IMDb from 1948-61
Carol Heiss USA FSK 1956—1960 Snow White and the Three Stooges
Adel Hekal UAR FBL 1960 Appeared in three Egyptian films between 1959 and 1964
Sonja Henie NOR FSK 1924—1936 Notably in the Oscar nominated One in a Million.
Norman Henson PHI GAR 1968 Acrobat Masters (AKA Men of Action Meet Women of Dracula)
Grant Hill USA BKB 1996 What Men Want
Jürgen Hingsen FRG ATH 1984—1988 Drei und eine halbe Portion
Dan Hodge USA WRE 1952—1956 The Wrestler
Eleanor Holm USA SWM 1928—1932 Tarzan’s Revenge
Max Holsboer SUI IHO/Referee 1920—1936 In several movies by Leni Riefenstahl
Sayed Houda EGY FBL 1924—1928 Appeared in the 1937 Egyptian comedy film "Al-Riady" (The Sportsman)
Sherri Howard USA ATH 1984—1988 The Scorpion King
Věra Hrubá CZE
TCH		 FSK 1936 as Vera Ralston – 27 credits on IMDb from 1941-58
John Huettner USA SAL 1932 Notably as an extra in Citizen Kane (1941).
Kyoko Ina USA FSK 1994—2002 Small part in Blades of Glory.
Kyrie Irving USA BKB 2016 Uncle Drew
Julie Isphording USA ATH 1984 Personal Best
Allen Iverson USA BKB 2004 Like Mike
Colin Jackson GBR ATH 1988—2000 Fast Girls
Ludowika Jakobsson-Eilers FIN FSK/Referee 1920—1936 Starred in a couple of Finnish silent films in 1920s.
Bruce Jenner USA ATH 1972—1976 Can’t Stop the Music
Belita Jepson-Turner GBR FSK 1936 Notably alongside Clark Gable in Never Let Me Go.
Rafer Johnson USA ATH 1956—1960 26 credits on IMDb from 1960-89.
Roy Jones, Jr. USA BOX 1988—1997 The Fighter and notably as Ballard in The Matrix Reloaded.
Michael Jordan USA BKB 1984—1992 Notably in Space Jam.
Al Joyner USA ATH 1984 Rookie of the Year
Duke Kahanamoku USA SWM/WPO 1912—1924 14 credits on IMDb from 1925-55.
Somluck Kamsing THA BOX 1992—2004 A Prayer Before Dawn
Gus Kenworthy GBR
USA		 FRS 2014—2022 Olympic Dreams
Nancy Kerrigan USA FSK 1992—1994 Small part in Blades of Glory.
Jason Kidd USA BKB 2000—2008 Like Mike
Jean-Claude Killy FRA ALP/COJO/IOC 1964—2015 Snow Job
Joe Kleine USA BKB 1984 Eddie
Jon Koncak USA BKB 1984 Eddie
Olga Korbut BLR
URS		 GAR 1972—1976 Koly padayut dereva
Stubby Kruger USA SWM 1920 Mutiny on The Bounty, Spartacus
Praveen Kumar IND ATH 1968—1972 Agreement; Pyaasi Nadi as a choreographer.
Jeannette Kwakye GBR ATH 2008 Fast Girls
Michelle Kwan USA FSK 1998—2002 Ice Castles
Jules Ladoumègue FRA ATH 1928 La Cavalcade des heures
Spencer Lam TPE FBL 1960 47 credits on IMDb from 1992-2004.
Angelos Lambrou GRE ATH 1928—1932 Film director and cinematographer who occasionally acted in Greek movies.
Luggi Leitner GER
FRG		 ALP 1960—1968 Acted as James Bond 007 George Lazenby's double in On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Suzanne Lenglen FRA TEN 1920—1924 Things Are Looking Up
Sugar Ray Leonard USA BOX 1976 I Spy; Riot; and others
Lisa Leslie USA BKB 1996—2008 What Men Want; Uncle Drew; Think Like A Man
Carl Lewis USA ATH 1984—2001 Alien Hunter
Li Yuejiu CHN GAR 1984 American Anthem
Nancy Lieberman USA BKB 1976 Perfect Profile
Åke Lindman FIN FBL 1952 126 credits on IMDb from 1949-2003
Nastia Liukin USA GAR 2008 Stick It
Luc Longley AUS BKB 1988—2000 Space Jam
Greg Louganis USA DIV 1976—1988 Dirty Laundry; and others
Frank Lubin USA BKB 1936 The Snows of Kilimanjaro; Tokyo After Dark; in the camera and electrical department
Steve Lundquist USA SWM 1984 Return of The Killer Tomatoes!
Dan Majerle USA BKB 1988 Forget Paris
Danny Manning USA BKB 1988 Eddie
Manuel Martínez ESP ATH 1996—2008
Rooney Massara GBR ROW 1972 A Hard Day's Night
Josephine McKim USA SWM 1928—1932 More Than a Secretary; Lady Be Careful; The King Steps Out; The Bride of Frankenstein; Movie-Town; Tarzan and His Mate (double for Maureen O'Sullivan when swimming);
Denis McNamara GBR WRE 1964 Notably as an extra in Cleopatra (1963).
Peter Mehringer USA WRE 1932 Knute Rockne All American
Katharine Merry GBR ATH 1996—2000 Fast Girls
Reggie Miller USA BKB 1996 Forget Paris; Uncle Drew
Mike Modano USA IHO 1998—2006 Mighty Ducks 2
Kenny Moore USA ATH 1968—1972 Personal Best
Glenn Morris USA ATH 1936 Tarzan’s Revenge; and others
Alonzo Mourning USA BKB 2000 Space Jam; Like Mike
Chris Mullin USA BKB 1984—1992 Forget Paris; Uncle Drew
Steve Nash CAN BKB 2000 Uncle Drew; Like Mike
Ashleigh Nelson (DNS) GBR ATH 2008—2020 Fast Girls
Dirk Nowitzki GER BKB 2008 Like Mike
Shaquille O'Neal USA BKB 1996 What Men Want
Charley Paddock USA ATH 1920—1928 The High School Hero; and others
Carlos Padilla PHI BOX 1932 For about 20 years, appeared in a large number of movies and also started a career as director.
José Padilla PHI BOX 1932—1936 Appeared in his first movie in 1931 and had his last appearance in 1974 earning 168 credits in the International Movie Database.
Roberto Pangaro ITA SWM 1972—1976 Made a brief appearance in the 1978 Ruggero Deodato film _L’ultimo sapore dell’aria_ (The last taste of the air), playing himself in a cameo
José Panizo ESP WRE 1960—1964 Was Arnold Schwarzenegger's stunt double in Conan the Barbarian
Ken Patera USA WLF 1972 The Wrestler
Carly Patterson USA GAR 2004 Stick It
Gary Payton USA BKB 1996—2000 Fear Not; Eddie; and others
Carlo Pedersoli ITA SWM 1952—1956 Under the pseudonym Bud Spencer.
Ana Peleteiro ESP ATH 2020 Parallel Mothers
David Pelletier CAN FSK 2002 Small part in Blades of Glory.
Nat Pendleton USA WRE 1920 114 credits on IMDb from 1924-1956.
Scottie Pippen USA BKB 1992—1996 Space Jam
Félix de Pomés ESP FEN 1924—1928 75 credits on IMDb from 1928-1967.
Pat Porter USA ATH 1984—1988 Without Limits
Harry Prieste USA DIV 1920 Played small parts in silent movies
Norman Pritchard IND ATH 1900 Beau Geste; Jayne Eyre; and others
Pedro Quartucci ARG BOX 1924 69 credits on IMDb from 1916-1981.
Tapio Rautavaara FIN ATH 1948 27 credits on IMDb from 1945-1970.
Mary Lou Retton USA GAR 1984 Scrooged; Naked Gun 33 1/3
Pierre Richard-Willm FRA ART 1924 Notably as Edmond Dantès in Le comte de Monte Cristo (1943).
Ken Richmond GBR WRE 1948—1960 The Iron Petticoat; Mad About Men; Fast and Loose; Night and the City
Mitch Richmond USA BKB 1988—1996 Eddie
Cathy Rigby USA GAR 1968—1972 McKenna Shoots for the Stars
Charles Rigoulot FRA WLF 1924 À la manière de Sherlock Holmes; Jamais deux sans trois; L'aventure est au coin de la rue; Paris mes amours; Un soir de bombe
Ronnie Robertson USA FSK 1956 Summer On Ice; Once Upon A Christmas Time
David Robinson USA BKB 1988—1996 Forget Paris; Uncle Drew; Like Mike
Pétur Rögnvaldsson ISL ATH 1960 Notably as Hans in Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959).
Bill Russell USA BKB 1956 On The Right Track
Toni Sailer AUT ALP 1956—1982 Auster Mit Senf; and others
Harold Sakata USA WLF 1948 Notably as henchman Oddjob in the Bond movie Goldfinger (1964).
Jamie Salé CAN FSK 1994—2002 Small part in Blades of Glory.
Todd Sand USA FSK 1992—1998 Small part in Blades of Glory.
Yuka Sato JPN FSK 1992—1994 Small part in Blades of Glory.
Jazmin Sawyers GBR ATH/BOB 2012—2020 Fast Girls
Luigi Scarabello ITA FBL 1936 Under the pseudonym Sergio Landi.
Mark Schultz USA WRE 1984—1988 Foxcatcher
Tiffany Scott USA FSK 2002 Blades of Glory – as a stunt double
Briana Scurry USA FBL 1996—2004 As a fictionalized version of herself in High Expectations
Bob Seagren USA ATH 1968—1972 21 credits on IMDb from 1967-1988.
Maren Seidler USA ATH 1968—1976 Personal Best
Saleh Selim UAR FBL 1960 Co-started in the 1962 Egyptian film "Black Candles"
Frank Shorter USA ATH 1972—1976 Personal Best, Without Limits
Umberto Silvestri ITA WRE 1936—1952 17 credits on IMDb from 1941-1970.
Floyd Simmons USA ATH 1948—1952 20 credits on IMDb from 1956-63; notably as Commander Harbison in South Pacific
Dean Smith USA ATH 1952 100 Movies – as a stuntman
John Smith USA ATH 1972 Personal Best
Pam Spencer USA ATH 1976—1984 Personal Best
Leon Spinks USA BOX 1976 Risen
Michael Spinks USA BOX 1976 Speed Zone
JoJo Starbuck USA FSK 1968—1972 The Cutting Edge
John H. Stracey GBR BOX 1968 The Krays; Risen; The Man Who Beat the Man
Levan Tediashvili GEO
URS		 WRE 1972—2001 Starred in Brighton 4th in 2021.
Gustavo Thoeni ITA ALP/Referee 1972—1994 Un centesimo di secondo
Iwan Thomas GBR ATH 1996—2000 Fast Girls
Kurt Thomas USA GAR 1976 Gymkata
Wayman Tisdale USA BKB 1984 Eddie
José Torres USA BOX 1956 The Last Fight
Hisakichi Toyoda JPN SWM 1932 3 credits on IMDb from 1936-1937.
Adelle Tracey GBR Fast Girls
Luis Trenker ITA BOB 1924 35 credits on IMDb from 1924-82.
Nelson Vails USA CTR 1984 Quicksilver
John Vande Velde USA CTR 1968—1972 Played one of the Cinzano cyclist "bad guys" in Breaking Away
Harold Walden GBR FBL 1912 The Winning Goal
Martha Rae Watson USA ATH 1964—1976 Personal Best
Johnny Weissmuller USA SWM/WPO 1924—1928 13 movies as Tarzan; multiple as Jungle Jim in movies and television; and others
John Weldon IRL ART 1924 Rob ‘Em Good
Bruce Wells (DNS) GBR BOX 1952 Doctor Who and The Daleks
Bill Wennington CAN BKB 1984 Space Jam
Jerry West USA BKB 1960 Uncle Drew
Mac Wilkins USA ATH 1976—1988 Prefontaine
Hillary Wolf USA JUD 1996—2000 Notably as Megan in Home Alone (1990).
Richie Woodhall GBR BOX 1988 The Reverend
Yang C. K. TPE ATH 1956—1964 There Was A Crooked Man; and others
John Zimmerman USA FSK 2002 Small part in Blades of Glory.