Justin Timberlake
American singer, songwriter, actor and record producer Justin Randall Timberlake first started playing golf at the age of 12, way before he was a pop and hip-hop icon. In fact, even to this day, he still plays it often with a 6 handicap.
As Justin told the online magazine Golf: >"There aren't many places I can go where I don't feel like I'm being watched. 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.”
Mark Harmon
You probably have seen 68-year-old Thomas Mark Hammon starring in the CBS drama NCIS ever since 2003 or maybe even in the 1982 comedy TV show St. Elsewhere. But did you know he was initially a college football player?
After he graduated from high school at Harvard-Westlake School, he completed a two-year associate degree at Los Angele’s Pierce College. He then received lots of offers from major college football programs and he ultimately chose the UCLA Bruins football team, where he played from 1972 to 1973.
Geena Davis
Geena Davis, who appeared in movies like the 1991 crime-drama film Thelma and Lousie and the 1999 comedy film Stuart Little, once tried out for a semifinals berth in the U.S. Olympic archery team to participate in the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics.
She actually did quite well, as she placed 24th out of 300 women who were also trying to make their way to the Olympic team. Even though she didn't make it to the Olympics, she participated as a wild-car entry in the Sydney International Golden Arrow competition.
Hugh Jackman
Australian actor, singer, and producer Hugh Michael Jackman is known for many roles, although you probably know him best for his role as Wolverine in the X-Men film series, where he appeared from 2000 to 2018. Since he grew up in Australia, he is also a huge rugby fan, so much so that he was an avid player. Interestingly enough, his experience as a rugby player served as an inspiration for his most known character.
As Jackman told People in 2015: > “In playing rugby my rage would come out, a rage that I identify as Wolverine rage. I'd be somewhere in a ruck in rugby, get punched in the face and I'd just go into a white rage.”
Elsa Hosk
Elsa Hosk, the stunning Victoria’s Secret model, used to play basketball for the women’s professional league in Sweden. As Hosk once told Fashionista: >"I took a 2-year break (from modeling) because I was a professional basketball player in Sweden".
Did you know that before becoming a model, she used to train 8 times a week? > “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", the former athlete said.
Terry Crews
Terry Crews has appeared in lots of famous movies such as the 2004 comedy film White Chicks and the 2010 action film The Expendables, but he had his big break in the drama TV series Brooklyn Nine-Nine. However, back in his teenage days, he was an NFL player.
He was a defensive end and linebacker for the Los Angeles Rams in 1991, the San Diego Chargers and the Washington Redskins. It was after several years of playing pro football that he decided to pursue an acting career. What a drastic change, don't you think?
Chris Pratt
If you’ve seen any of the two parts of Guardians of the Galaxy or the 2015 fantasy film Jurassic World, then you probably noticed how insanely fit Chris is. So it should not come as a big surprise that he was once a talented athlete. Can any of you guess what sport he fancied?
Yes, way before he appeared in Parks and Recreation, he used to be a star wrestler back when he was in Lake Stevens high school in Washington. Chris actually placed fifth in a high school state wrestling tournament. Not bad, not bad at all!
Josh Duhamel
You might know the American actor and former fashion model Joshua David Duhamel from the 2010 dramedy Life as We Know It or for his appearances in four of the Transformers movies, the last one being Transformers: The Last Knight.
Back in his birthplace Minot, North Dakota, he used to attend the Minot State University where he played as the quarterback for the university’s football team, the Minot State Beavers. Apparently, he was so good that the university enlisted him into its hall of fame.
Jason Statham
The 52-year-old English actor and film producer has lots of action movies under his name. To name a few, the Transporter trilogy, the 2003 mafia film The Italian Job , the 2006 crime-action film Crank, and 4 of the Fast & Furious movies, the last one being the 2019 spinoff Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw.
However, he happens to be a man of many facets, as it turns out he almost made it to the Olympics. He also represented Great Britain in the 1990 Commonwealth Games in New Zealand as a competitive driver. But unfortunately, he finished outside the medal positions in the three tournaments he competed in.
Jamie Foxx
The 52-year-old actor Jamie Foxx left his mark in history after winning the Oscar for Best Actor for his portrayal of Ray Charles in the 2004 biographical film Ray. You've also probably seen him in Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained . However, before delving into acting, Foxx was a football player.
Yes, he was, and he was incredible. He used to be a football quarterback at Terrell Highschool, in Texas. He was the first player in the school's history to pass for more than 1,000 yards. He was so good, that he even aspired to play for the Dallas Cowboys!
Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell is best known for being a bestselling author. Most of his articles address the issue of how and why human beings are how they are, exploring the fields of sociology and psychology. However, what you probably didn't know is that he also used to be a runner. He reportedly said he considers himself a “running junkie”, even though he doesn’t race anymore.
Gladwell has been asked about this hidden passion of his on numerous occasions. As he once told Runners World: > “I just like the purity of (running). I like the fact that it doesn't have the rules and refs, the owners and teams, fancy uniforms and equipment, and all the other things that have weighed down so much modern sport. I like how international it is… Increasingly, there are so many impediments to people doing the things they want to do. In running there really is no impediment. I find that very beautiful, and it makes the sport more powerful".
Kate Middleton
British royal family member Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, might be a little busy with royal duties nowadays, but back when she was in boarding school, she played tennis, field hockey, and even ran cross country. Was there anything she didn't do?
She was so into sports, she almost steered an all-female rowing team across the English Channel. I know what you're thinking: why "almost"? Well, even though she went through several months of training throughout 2007, in the end she had to pull out by orders of the Queen. Apparently, she is a much better skier than Wills.
Pippa Middleton
Even though she didn’t marry a royal, Pippa Middleton outshined her older sister in the sports field. She ran the Safaricom Marathon in Kenya back in June 2015 and she finished the 26.2-mile distance in 3:56:33. And if you think that's not impressive enough, she cycled 54 miles from London to Brighton to raise awareness on heart disease for the British Heart Foundation.
During an interview by Hello, when asked about the marathon, she said the following: > “I decided that a marathon was a 'life box' that needed ticking and this year was my time—despite it being one of the toughest in the world, with temperatures rising to more than 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), at an altitude of 5,550 feet and with the possibility of bumping into lions or rhinos. It was tough, tougher than anything I'd been faced with before and required every inch of my energy, stamina and stubbornness.”
George Clooney
Who doesn't love George Clooney? Ocean’s Eleven, Syriana, Good Night and Good Luck... his list of classics is endless! But while we're all familiar with the movies he's starred in, here's a fact you probably didn't know: 58-year-old George Clooney used to be an elite baseball player when he was in high school. So much so, that in 1977 he tried out for the Cincinnati Reds.
Even though he didn’t make the team, he's still a big baseball fan to this day. As Clooney recently told Letterman: > “I really thought, my whole life, trying out, that I was going to be a professional baseball player.” To be honest, we're glad he gave acting a chance!
Sheryl Crow
American musician, singer, songwriter, and actress Sheryl Crowl, among many other things, has released ten studio albums and she has also provided a lot of film soundtracks. But before all that, back in high school, she used to be a runner.
Crow was actually a star runner. She won medals in the 75-meter low hurdles when she went on the state championships. Beat that! She's still a sports fan to this day, and she reportedly said that tennis is now her favorite sport.
Jason Lee
Jason Lee is a comedy legend. He is mostly known for his role as Earl Hickey in the TV comedy series My Name Is Earl, for which he actually received Golden Globes nominations for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy TV series in 2005 and 2006.
But before all that, he was a professional skateboarder. In fact, he helped popularize the kick-flips and shove-its. Nowadays, he is a co-owner of a company that distributes skateboard decks, called Stereo Skateboards.
Mahershala Ali
Mahershala Ali is one of the highest-paid actors of this last decade, famous for his roles in series like House of Cards, True Detective, and Luke Cage and movies like Moonlight. Back in his teenage days, he attended Saint Mary’s College in California on a basketball scholarship. But by the time he graduated, he lost all the nature of the sport.
Mahershala looks back at his basketball years with a bit of remorse. As he once said in a university interview: >"Honestly, I kind of resented basketball by the end of my time there. 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.”
Ed O’Neill
The 73-year-old actor and comedian Ed O’Neill is known for his roles in comedy hit series like Al Bundy on Married… with Children, for which he was nominated for two Golden Globes, or Jay Pritchett on Modern Family.
Very few people know that Ed attended Ohio State University on a football scholarship. Due to his tendency to party a little bit too hard and some problems with his coach, he left after his sophomore year. He was then signed as an un-drafter free agent to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1969, but two weeks later he was cut from the team. He better just stick to acting, don't you think?
Channing Tatum
Channing Tatum is best known for his role in the 2012 comedy film Magic Mike and its 2015 sequel Magic Mike XXL. You've probably also seen him in the action-comedy film 21 Jump Street and its 2014 sequel 22 Jump Street. But can any of you guess what sport he played?
It happens to be that he went to Glenville State College on a football scholarship, but in the end, he dropped out. >"I just got tired of playing. I was only playing to keep that scholarship. I was interested in other things and missing home”, Tatum told ESPN.
Jon Stewart
Way before he landed his first acting gigs, Jon Stewart was a talented soccer player. He used to play soccer at William & Mary College and he racked up a total of 10 goals and 12 assists, including the winning goal in a victory game against the University of Connecticut.
He even played on the American national team and won the silver medal at the Pan American Maccabi Games in Brazil. SAdly, he injured his knee shortly after. Unsurprisingly, Stewart also used his humor on the field. One time, when an opposing player made fun of his nose in an anti-semitic way, Stewart responded that the size had never been a problem for him.