As the day of The Big Game approaches, there are some essentials you simply have to get right for your watch party, and as a massive sports fan, of course you’re on top of that shit. Your wings recipe? Unfuckwitable. Your supply of booze? Someone is puking tonight. Your 75” TV? OLED 4K AF, with the motion smoothing turned up as high as it will go. You are ready.
There’s just one thing your celebration is missing: a list, featuring famous athletes who made memorable appearances in horror, with which to impress your friends. As always, FANGORIA is here for you.
Lots of sports professionals have had lucrative second careers in movies, usually starring in action films, cop thrillers, or as Webster’s dad on the TV. But a not-insignificant number of these specimens of physical excellence have turned up in horror films, both widely beloved and otherwise. Here now are ten pro athletes who’ve graced our genre. (Pro-tip: Be sure to share this dazzling knowledge with your Game Day party guests before the first keg is kicked.)
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Tor Johnson
Tor Johnson in PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE. His face instantly recognizable to any monster kid, professional wrestler Tor Johnson gained immortality in the films of Ed Wood, most notably 1959’s Plan 9 From Outer Space, in which he gamely lumbered around with blinding scleral lenses over his eyeballs. When it came time to portray “The Super Swedish Angel” in Tim Burton’s Ed Wood, it of course took another wrestler (George “The Animal” Steele) to pull it off.
Rosey Grier
Rosey Grier and Ray Milland in THE THING WITH TWO HEADS. (credit: MGM/AIP) If you grew up in the 1970s and weren’t a football fan, you nevertheless knew former New York Giant and L.A. Ram defensive tackle Rosey Grier from his many guest appearances on shows like CHiPs and The Love Boat, or as one half of The Thing with Two Heads, in which Grier played a death row inmate forced to have the head of a rich, racist old white man (Oscar winner Ray Milland) attached to his body. Hijinks… ensue? The Thing with Two Heads was on constant rotation on TV back then; not so much anymore. At 93, Grier is today one of the oldest living members of the NFL. Neat!
Kurt Russell
Kurt Russell in THE THING. (Credit: Universal) That’s right, Kurt Russell! Though he had a successful run as a Disney child actor and went on to become one of the genre’s most iconic heroes in John Carpenter’s The Thing, Russell also had a promising career in minor league baseball (where he played for various clubs), until a torn rotator cuff in 1973 put an end to his time on the diamond. Baseball’s loss was most certainly our gain.
Carl Weathers
Carl Weathers in PREDATOR. (Credit: 20th Century Before his iconic turn as Apollo Creed in the Rocky films, Carl Weathers was a linebacker for the Oakland Raiders, then the BC Lions in Canada. His natural charisma was a perfect fit for the screen – and for genre in particular, where he memorably held his own opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1987’s Predator (which also featured Jesse “The Body” Ventura, another athlete-turned-thespian.
Vinnie Jones
Vinnie Jones in THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN. (Credit: Lionsgate) Before his chilling (and Chainsaw Award-nominated) turn as Mahogany in 2008’s The Midnight Meat Train, Vinnie Jones enjoyed a long career as a footballer for a variety of clubs, and trading on his rough-and-tumble persona in a bevy of action movies (and an X-Men movie). Though he seems content to rack up the action/crime credits, he occasionally veers back into our lane, and should do it again, on account of his being scary as shit.
CM Punk
CM Punk in GIRL ON THE THIRD FLOOR. (Credit: MPI) A divisive and legendary figure in both pro wrestling and MMA, CM Punk (aka Phil Brooks) tackled a leading role in 2019 with his acting debut in Travis Stevens’ Chainsaw Award-winning Girl on the Third Floor. Brooks has gone on to appear in several other horror movies (including the currently in release Night Patrol), displaying an affinity for the genre that we appreciate.
Dane DiLiegro
Dane DiLiegro in PREY. (Credit: 20th Century) Following a career as a professional basketball player in Europe, the 6’8” Dane DiLiegro has seen a lucrative career in creature performance, getting into monster drag for things like Imaginary, Werewolves, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew and most notably as the “feral Predator” of Prey. Lately he’s been getting some face time out of the rubber suits, showing off his comedy chops in the series Running Point and Only Murders in the Building. He’s also a Fango contributor! We’re proud of him.
Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho in TERRIFIER 2. (Credit: Cineverse) After a surprise cameo in Terrifier 2, wrestling great Chris Jericho received the full experience in Terrifier 3, as a hospital security guard who gets got by Art the Clown and Victoria. With appearances in In Search of Darkness Part II and Sharknado 3, Jericho is on record as an avowed horror lover, and we fully expect to see him in more genre offerings.
Ayisha Issa
Ayisha Issa in DARK MATCH. (Credit: Shudder) A former model who went on to rack up several wins at the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation World Championships, Ayisha Issa’s talents have been deployed in a number of genre entries, most notably as the lead in Lowell Dean’s 2024 wrestling horror Dark Match.
Chi Lewis-Parry
Chi Lewis-Parry in 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE. (Credit: Sony) The formidable former MMA fighter came out, uh, swinging as the breakout star of last year’s 28 Years Later. As Samson, his role (and wardrobe) sees growth in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. Now teed up to take the baton from screen legends of similar girth, Lewis-Parry says he wants to play Jaws in a James Bond movie. I mean, you tell him no.
