Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
Pro Wrestlers have been involved with Hollywood, almost as long as movies were being made. Many times they would film a quick cameo appearance or be an extra as a “heavy” without many even realizing they were professional grapplers. Nowadays, wrestlers have become more leading men and women, starring and headlining feature films. Today’s top five looks at my personal favorite movies that had a pro wrestler involved in the movie. Whether it was as a lead star or just a few scenes…these are my favorites.
Terry Funk – Roadhouse
Roadhouse starring Patrick Swayze was a really fun movie and the addition of the legendary Terry Funk is an added bonus. Terry Funk proved he could act as a crazed bar bouncer, although I really don’t think it was a far stretch in acting for him. Terry Funk’s role wasn’t that big and his lines were few and far between, but they meant something in this film.
Jesse Ventura – Predator
“I Ain’t Got Time to Bleed” was your typical cheesy 1980’s movie quote, but at the time, was badass, as was this entire movie. Jesse Ventura’s gun was incredible and his ***SPOILER ALERT*** death scene was jaw dropping. Arnold Schwarzenegger might have been the star, but Ventura stole the show.
Hulk Hogan – Rocky III
This in my opinion, was the best Rocky movie out of all of the sequels. I remember as a kid so disappointed when my mother took me to see E.T. instead of this flick. Luckily, my grandmother took me to see it a few weeks later and it was everything I could ever hope it would be. Seeing the then relatively unknown Hulk Hogan as ‘Thunder Lips’ had me in awe, as he towered over Sylvester Stallone…who at the time, thought was this huge man himself.
Roddy Piper – They Live
They Live is by far, my favorite movie with a pro wrestling in a STARRING role. Being a fan of Roddy Piper and a fan of John Carpenter’s work in general, made this a fantastic film in my view. They Live might have been made in 1988, but is still relatable to today’s day and age. This was Piper’s first real big role on his trek to become a Hollywood actor that could have begun a huge movie career for him alas, that was really not to be.
Lenny Montana – The Godfather
The 1972 film ‘The Godfather’ is one of my all time favorite movies. The story, the acting and the directing were all first class. I never realized that a pro wrestler named Lenny Montana had a small, but powerful role in the movie until years later. Montana played the role of ‘Luca Brasi’ and he eventually went “Sleeping with the fishes,” but this film is number 1 all time for me, regardless if a wrestler was in it or not.