9 Celebrities Who Started Out As Athletes

Although the keys to being a good athlete versus an actor or musician require very different skill sets, both ultimately share the same goal of entertaining the masses and achieving mastery of your particular craft. It probably doesn’t come as a surprise that a lot of well-known entertainers got their start as accomplished athletes back in high school and college, especially when you consider that success starts with having confidence in yourself and the ability to do what others can’t. Some of today’s stars quit playing sports due to injury while others simply recognized that their acting or singing abilities were superior to their dunking or tackling skills. With that in mind, here are 9 popular celebrities who were once high-achieving athletes.

1. Jason Sudeikis

This Saturday Night Live alumnus is one of the top improv comedians around, but back in his high school days in Kansas he could really hoop! A star player at Shawnee Mission West High School, he actually managed to earn a scholarship to play at Fort Scott Community College, but left to pursue a career in comedy.

2. Jason Statham

Where or not Statham’s action movies have any actual artistic merit is up to debate (Mechanic: The Resurrection happens to be one of the stupidest movies I’ve ever sat through in the cinema), but there’s no question that he’s a bankable star, with his movies from 2002 through 2017 generating $1.5 billion in ticket sales. He’s also always been a natural athlete, excelling in soccer, kung fu and kickboxing as a youth. But believe it or not, the sport he was best at was diving. In fact, he represented England 1990 Goodwill Games in Auckland, New Zealand in the 10,3 and 1-meter diving competitions.

3. Robin Roberts

The host of the top-rated morning news program Good Morning America got her start as sportscaster on local TV channels before working her way up to ESPN’s Sportscenter. But before she began her fabled broadcasting career, she was outstanding at tennis and basketball. She received a basketball scholarship at Southeastern Louisiana University where she was their star player. In 2012 she was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall-of-Fame for her contributions as an athlete and  broadcaster.