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So many people WANT to try acting. Then they find out how much work it is, and how little control you have, and how little respect many directors have for actors. They'll cut a celeb a little slack early, but embarass yourself on screen, and they forget your name in a hurry.

Has any pro tennis player EVER made an impact as an actor? I mean an actual CAREER, not just a one-off. Movies? TV? Music? How about any athlete in any sport?

Well, I can name a few actually, but there aren't many, and they're almost all men.

Chuck Connors (baseball) --> starred in TV show "The Rifleman")

Nick Nolte (american footoball) --> Movie career. "48 hours" w/Eddie Murphy, among a LOT of others.

Howie Long (american footoball) --> Moives "Art of War", "Broken Arrow", plus commercials and he's a sports announcer)

Jim Brown (american footoball) --> 35 year film career continues, form the serious to the silly. "Ice Station Zebra", "The Dirty Dozen", "He Got Game", "Mars Attacks"

The only woman I can come up with is Nany Kerrigan (Ice skating). But virtually all of her TV and movie appearances centered around ice skating. Youcan't say she hasd a career in acting. Her skating career was simply shown on movies and television. A lot.

Professioanl Wrestling, at the moment, is providing an interesting cross-over point. Is it athletics, or entertainment?

Bill Goldberg (American Football) Currently stars as a professional wrestler. Is that Athletics to Entertainment? Or Athletics to Athletics? A lot of footballers went into Wrestling when it still portrayed itself as a sport. Ernie Ladd, Kiven Greene, and from basketball, Dennis Rodman.

Now it portrays itself as entertainment, and more athletes are moving to it.

Kurt Angle (Three time Olympic Gold medalist in qwrestling) has moved over to the pro Wrestling circuit. Which is now sold as a king of opera with more vidoe and no fat ladies, near as I can tell.

Brock Lesnar (NCAA wrestling champ) Has moved over to 'WWE' as well.

Okay, so that's wrestling to pseudo-wrestling, and who takes that seriously, anyway?

Well a professional Wrestler saw a movie he was THE start in open at #1 in the box office lst week. Is that Athletics to Entertainment? Or Entertainment to Entertainment? The athlete/actor in question also played college football.

So Dwayne Johnson AKA "the Rock", has to go on our list.

And if you were t all a fan of the "mortal Combat - The Series", they used pro wresters as villians in almost every episiode, mostly cause they could handle the fight choreography, and came with their own fan bases.

Notice the near total absence of women?

So you CAN make it from sports to movies, but it ain't easy, and when you figure the number of athletes, it doesn't happen often.

So who on the WTA tour do you think could make the transition?

Couple of caveats.

Looks doesn't mean much in Hollywood. It means everything of course, but five makeup people, a ten thousand dollar gown and four hours in amakeup chair can make 90% of the world beautiful. They're vicious about weight, but as long as your looks are in the better looking half of the population, Hollywood can take care of the rest.

Serena of course has a leg up. She's already appeared on TV without embarassing herself. We'll see this fall if she can handle a slightly bigger part.

Anna got through a small movie role unscathed, but I wonder if she can get bigger parts on her name if she's not a top twenty player.

I can't imagine Venus wanting that kind of attention focused on her on a regular basis.

If I HAD to bet money, though, I'd bet on Amelie. She has a face that quiet emotions show through on. I find her interviews quite fascinating because you can almost SEE the little feelings run across her face. I have no idea if she'd want to do something like that.
 

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Interesting question.

I wouldn't have thought that Amelie would want that kind of attention any more than Venus - after all the coverage of her private life early in her career she always strikes me as a little cautious.

I think that Serena and Anna are the only good bets. Any of the younger players (Sharapova comes to mind), well it's a bit early to tell.

The only person I can think of that might be seduced by that lifestyle change is JenCap - although even she's probably not going to be that keen on media intrusion.

On a side note though - I saw Monica's cameo the other day on 'The Nanny.' Acting may not be her strongest skill, but that look on her face when they mentioned Wimbledon was hilarious :lol:.
 

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I see a lot of things that have nothing to do with tennis,However if anyone could make the jump,I think it would be,Jennifer,. She made her comeback when everyone said she was done,Well that was three MAJORS ago. she has the strength and the talent if she choses. shes my ALL AMERCIAN GIRL
 

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To the person who wants to say it LOUD. Try saying this LOUD PROUD, I'M AN AMERCIAN AN PROUD OF IT. The U.S.is a melting pot of all pople.As a person who fought to keep it free lets drop,black,yellow,red,white,brown,and mutli-colored and stand up togeather.I'M AN AMERCIAN AN PROUD OF IT.
 

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Volcana said:
I can't imagine Venus wanting that kind of attention focused on her on a regular basis.
I would tend to agree.
Venus doesn't seem the type.
However, I've noticed that as of late she is really starting to come oout of her shell with all the appearances she had made around and after the USO.

I was watching the Letterman clip of V&S and also from the VMA's, as well as Venus on the CBS Morning Show, and thought Venus has never looked as comfortable and confident in front of the camera before.
On Letterman, I actually thought Venus did a much better job than Serena, especially in the one about Saddam.

I think Venus could and maybe will dabble in some acting but, I don't think she wants and acting career as Serena does.
 

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I think the following tennis players would be good actors

Serena- has a ton of personality and has already started acting

Venus-she is always funny during the trophy presentations

Jennifer-might not like being on camera but you know if she wanted to she could pull it off

Maria S- tons of poise and likes being on camera. Has a nice personality

Anna K-duh
 

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Well, only thing I do know is: that Andy Roddick definitely CAN´T act!
 

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How soon we forget.

Olympic skating star Sonya Heine was at one time the most successful ice skater in the world, having won Olympic gold severaltimes. And at the end of the 1930s and early 40s, she became the highest paid actress in the world,topping the Hollywood box office list. She did mostly romantic comedies.
 

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Serena was aweful as that kindergarden teacher. She was trying to act bitchy with no facial experession on her face, while the mom she was fighting with was a very good actress, so yeah, Serena needs some work before she can be a big time actress.
 

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Ooh-I'd like to see Serena on TV.

I'd forgotten about Sonya Heine Tony-she has to be tops in this regard. Maybe ice skating is easiest to cross over because it seen a such a feminine sport.

Esther Williams was a swimming champ who made all those water sking trick movies in the 40s and 50s. She was nicknamed "America's Mermaid".

Those are the two I can recall. All the others are, as Volcana said, "one-offs".
 

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Just remembered Martina Navratilova was on an episode of "All My Children" in the late 1970s. She played a nurse! It's kind of fitting as she said she learnt English from watching soap operas:)

Two minor tennis players became famous as enteretainers. Cathy Lee Crosby:

"An accomplished tennis player in her youth, she played Wimbledon twice and at one time was ranked #7 in singles and #4 in doubles in the United States."

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004848/

Jinx Falkenburg was known on radio. The Anna Kournikova of her day-Jet set Jinx was America's top model.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0266242/
 

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none of today's well known players have the talent to become respected actresses.

Kournikova could host some game shows and MTV awards ceremonies, but would fall flat in anything more substantial. Serena based on her name recognition can certainly start a career doing B-grade sitcoms if she wants. But seeing how she's the world's best women's tennis player, i'd say she ought to stick to what she does well, at least for a while.
 

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Rollo said:
Just remembered Martina Navratilova was on an episode of "All My Children" in the late 1970s. She played a nurse! It's kind of fitting as she said she learnt English from watching soap operas:)

Two minor tennis players became famous as enteretainers. Cathy Lee Crosby:

"An accomplished tennis player in her youth, she played Wimbledon twice and at one time was ranked #7 in singles and #4 in doubles in the United States."

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004848/

Jinx Falkenburg was known on radio. The Anna Kournikova of her day-Jet set Jinx was America's top model.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0266242/

There are pics and info on Jinx in the 1940s thread in the Blast

http://www.wtaworld.com/showthread.php?p=2571924
 
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