We’ve seen it all before. An athlete earns a huge amount of fame and notoriety and gets an offer to become a crossover star by participating in some acting. And why wouldn’t they? They’re paid to potentially get some exposure and a new set of followers.
But despite those noble intentions, more often than not, athletes’ acting performances turn out to be regrettable roles than performances to remember. There are almost too many to name, in fact. There are 25 acting performances by athletes that simply stand out from the rest as the worst, most terrible, unwatchable pieces of film the sporting world has to offer.
Check them out right here:
Lebron James – Entourage/Trainwreck:
James deservedly earned a spot high on the list of the greatest NBA players of all-time, but his acting doesn’t match his skills on the court, predictably enough. His cameo appearance in the HBO hit ‘Entourage’ proves that. In it, he and actor Matt Damon admonish the show’s lead character for not donating enough to their charity. James delivered his short, one or two-word lines with the charisma of a robot.
He later re-appeared as a romantic advice-giver in Amy Schumer’s 2015 comedy ‘Trainwreck.’ This time around, James was much more seasoned and was actually given full sentences. He redeemed himself as an actor in at least some sense. However, his early appearance on ‘Entourage’ will always inspire cringe. In fact, you’ll see that many of the athlete guest spots on that show did, and even worse than James’ brief appearance.