Over the past three decades, Hollywood has seen a huge influx in the amount of professional athletes transitioning into the world of entertainment.
Former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Conor McGregor is the latest athlete to appear on the big screen after shining in Road House.
The former two-weight champion made his Hollywood debut in Amazon Prime Video’s reimagining of the classic 1980s action movie starring Patrick Swayze.
Following the film’s release the Irishman has claimed he broke Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson‘s $5.5million paycheck record to become the highest-paid first-time actor ever.
Here are eight athletes who boarded the flight to Hollywood to make their acting debut and how much they earned from their first film.
Conor McGregor is the latest athlete to transition over to the acting world in the Prime exclusive reboot of Road House
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson – The Mummy Returns ($5.5million)
One of the most notable and well-known names who made the jump from the sporting world to Hollywood was Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.
The Rock set a Guinness world record when he made the change from athlete to actor becoming the highest-paid first-time actor. The record up until recently was still untouched, however a fellow athlete on this list has reportedly broke his long standing record.
The Rock shot up to stardom in the 90s and early 00s after he made his WWE debut. The Rock dominated WWE for almost two decades.
Soon Johnson was appearing on Late night TV, most notably hosting Saturday Night Live ‘SNL’ for the very first time back in 2000.
Briefly after that Hollywood came knocking and Johnson jumped at the opportunity as he like many athletes feared what his life would look like once his body could no longer keep up with the physical demands of being an athlete.
He made his acting debut as Mathayus, the Scorpion King, in the 2001 film The Mummy Returns. He earned $5.5million (£4.4m) for the role.
Dwayne Johnson had held the Guinness world record for being the highest first-time actor
Arnold Schwarzenegger – Hercules in New York ($12,000)
Schwarzenegger first grabbed the attention of the entertainment world while he was out flaunting his impeccable and mind-blowing athletic physique in bodybuilding competitions across the world.
At just the age of 23, Schwarzenegger became the youngest ‘Mr Olympia’ a record he still holds today. The Mr Olympia title is awarded to the best bodybuilder in the world.
Schwarzenegger always had his eyes set on transitioning from the world of bodybuilding to acting.
And in 1969 Arnold’s wishes came true when he landed a starring role in ‘Hercules in New York’.
Schwarzenegger was paid just $12,000 for reprising the role but his decision to swap the weights for scripts has paid off as through the years his movies have grossed more than $4billion (£3bn) at the worldwide box office.
Arnold Schwarzenegger first rose to fame as Mr Olympia in the bodybuilding world
John Cena – The Marine ($280,000)
A trend which will become more and more apparent on this list as you read through is the amount of WWE stars who have made the transition from wrestler to actor.
Another wrestler who has imitated The Rock’s success is John Cena. Cena became a household name in the WWE for his signature catchphrase ‘you can’t see me’.
Soon Cena like Dwayne became bigger than the sport and other opportunities came knocking.
Cena made his acting debut in ‘The Marine’ back in 2006. Although Cena has never confirmed it has been reported he earned $280,000 (£220,000) for the role.
Since his debut role in ‘The Marine’, Cena has gone on to star in some of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters from the ‘Fast and Furious’ Franchise to ‘The Suicide Squad’ and ‘Barbie’.
Since his debut role in ‘The Marine’, Cena has gone on to star in some of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters from the ‘Fast and Furious’ Franchise to ‘The Suicide Squad’ and ‘Barbie’
Mike Tyson – The Hangover ($100,000)
With the way some of these individuals are going most will eventually become more well known for their roles in the films they have starred in and not the sports they were once a part off.
However, one athlete where this will never be the case is former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson.
His legacy in the boxing world is rivalled by only a few and his super stardom and popularity both in boxing and outside of the sport has Hollywood executives queuing outside his house to try and get him to appear in a film as they know his name will draw in more viewers.
Tyson earned $100,000 for his small role in the popular movie ‘The Hangover’ in 2009. His payday for the role is quite impressive when you compare it to the $300,000 that was given to each of the films leading actors.
Tyson featured alongside Hollywood heavyweights Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifianakis in The Hangover I and II
Shaquille O’Neal – Blue Chips (not confirmed)
Shaquille O’Neal has had a remarkable career whether that is on the basketball court, starring in movies or from endorsements.
And it is safe to say O’Neal will go down as one of the greatest players to step on to the court, however unlike many mentioned on this list, O’Neal certainly doesn’t have a future in acting.
Against the advice of his agent, Shaq debuted in Hollywood in 1994 with ‘Blue Chips’.
O’Neal played they role of ‘Neon Bourdreaux’ alongside his Orlando Magic teammate at the time Penny Hardaway. The two men both portrayed young basketball players.
Blue Chips tanked miserably at the box office with the movie making just $26million through domestic and international collection despite having a budget of $35million.
It is unclear how much Shaq got paid for signing onto the project but he certainly did not see a profit after the films release unlike his fellow Basketball turned actor buddy Michael Jordan in Space Jam.
Blue Chips was a major failure at the box office, with the 1994 movie failing to turn over a profit
Ronda Rousey – The Expendables 3 ($400,000)
Another WWE/UFC fighter who made the jump from the ring to the screen was Ronda Rousey.
The former WWE and UFC champion has appeared in several screen projects most notably ‘Fast and Furious 7’ and ‘Expendables 3’.
Her debut acting role was in the 2014 film ‘Expendables 3’. Rousey was reported to have earned $400,000 (£315,000) for her breakout role.
Rousey stars alongside Sylvester Stallone, Harrison Ford and Jason Statham in the film.
Ronda Rousey stars alongside Sylvester Stallone, Harrison Ford and Jason Statham
Michael Jordan – Space Jam (not confirmed)
Michael Jordan is the poster child for becoming bigger than your sport. Arguably the greatest basketball player of all time, Jordan built an empire from his time both on and off the court.
Jordan transcended the sport world as a cultural trendsetter. The Chicago Bulls icon graced the covers of magazines and covers, earned an array of endorsements and even launched his own worldwide successful trainer and clothing brand.
His most impressive and notable business savvy move however is arguably his leading role as himself in the 1996 hybrid live-action/animated movie ‘Space Jam’.
The movie saw Jordan star alongside cartoon icons Bugs Bunny and Tweety Bird.
Although it is unclear how much Jordan was paid to star in the movie, it is reported that due to the movies success he has earned around $20m from the movies sales, credits and so on.
Jordan reportedly earned around $20m for the films success after it was released
Conor McGregor – ‘Road House’ (Over $5.5m)
The latest athlete to make the highly calculated move from their sport to the film industry is former UFC champion Conor McGregor.
The Irishman made his acting debut alongside Hollywood veteran Jake Gyllenhaal in a reboot of the 1989 Patrick Swayze classic ‘Road House’.
McGregor stars in a leading role alongside well accomplished actor Jake Gyllenhaal
Although the official fee McGregor received for appearing in the reboot, McGregor himself has claimed his role in the film has now made him the highest paid first-time actor in history.
If his statement is true, it means McGregor will have earned more than Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s record fee of $5.5m (£4.36m).