We’ve all heard of athletes who successfully made the perilous transition from playing sports to playing movie roles. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, was regarded as one of the best professional wrestlers of all time before he had us on the edge of our seats in action-packed flicks. And while Rhonda Rousey may be known as a champion wrestler and MMA fighter who also won a bronze medal in Judo at the 2008 Summer Olympics, she also recently made quite a splash onscreen.
What’s less well known, however, are all of the celebrities who once dominated an athletic field. Some of them still compete, whereas for others it’s just a memory. But many of them credit the discipline that they got from their chosen sport for helping them succeed in Hollywood. So read on to discover which of your favorite celebrities are secretly star athletes. And for more celebrity trivia, check out 17 Celebrities You Had No Idea Were So Tall.[/nextpage][nextpage]
Elsa Hosk: Basketball
The stunning Victoria’s Secret model used to play basketball for the women’s professional league in Sweden.
“I took a 2 year break [from modeling] because I was a professional basketball player in Sweden,” Hosk told Fashionista. “It’s not anything like the WNBA, I mean basketball is not that big in Sweden. But it was still very tough. We worked out probably like eight times a week, and then it was games on the weekend. It took up a lot of time, it got really serious and [I realized] I wanted to explore the world and meet people and not be tied down.”[/nextpage][nextpage]
Geena Davis: Archery
Geena Davis once placed 24th out of 300 women trying out for a semifinals berth in the U.S. Olympic archery team to participate in the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics. While she didn’t make the team, she did participate as a wild-card entry in the Sydney International Golden Arrow competition. To hear another great story about Davis, check out 30 Awful Jobs Celebrities Had Before They Became Famous.[/nextpage][nextpage]
Justin Timberlake: Golf
The pop icon first started playing golf when he was 12, and he’s still an avid golfer with a 6 handicap.
“There aren’t many places I can go where I don’t feel like I’m being watched,” Timberlake told Golf.com. “But the golf course is one of them. It’s my refuge. It’s where I get a chance to be alone in the world.”[/nextpage][nextpage]
Mahershala Ali: Basketball
The House of Cards actor went to Saint Mary’s College of California on a basketball scholarship, but lost his enthusiasm for the cutthroat nature of the sport by the time he graduated.
“Honestly, I kind of resented basketball by the end of my time there,” he said in a university interview. “I’d seen guys on the team get chewed up, spat out and I was personally threatened with being shipped off to the University of Denver. All in the name of wins and productivity.”
(Excerpt) Read More at: BestLife.com[/nextpage]