From the Mat to the Big Screen

It could be the beginning of a really obscure joke: what do Darren Aronofsky’s potentially Oscar-worthy The Wrestler and straight-to-DVD Christmas release Santa’s Slay have in common? The clue is in Aronofsky’s title. As The Wrestler makes it to the big screen, a real wrestler makes his debut as a leading man. Bill Goldberg, former World Heavyweight Champion in WWE, is Santa, who after a well-behaved thousand years, is now wreaking havoc across the world.

Goldberg is not the first, nor will he be the last, wrestler to attempt to forge an acting career; however, there have been more successful ventures. Many twenty-somethings will fondly remember Hulk Hogan’s high jinx antics in Mr. Nanny, while a host of wrestlers can be found in action-oriented films and stereotypical ‘muscle’ roles. Kevin Nash, formerly Diesel, can be seen in 2004’s The Punisher, while more keen-eyed viewers may have recognised him in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Secret of the Ooze.

Wrestling is a soap opera with blood and violence, neither fitting comfortably under the heading of ‘sport’ nor ‘entertainment’, and consequently being largely ignored by members of both communities. But with even the most diehard fan conceding that wrestling is comedic (both intentionally and not), one can recognise that the best wrestlers are not always the best athletes. Performance is key; the ability to make a crowd of thousands instantly cheer or boo is an undeniable achievement, and has given some wrestlers an opportunity to hone their comic timing and acting talents. With WWE now making film appearances a mandatory stipulation of wrestling contracts, wrestlers such as John Cena and 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin can be seen in straight-to-DVD films (The Marine and The Condemned, respectively), released by WWE’s own production company.

There is, however, one wrestler who has successfully transcended his role to become an actor in his own right. His brief, digitally enhanced debut in The Mummy Returns saw him receive immediate equal billing with Brendan Fraser, and the subsequent spin-off (The Scorpion King) paid him $5.5 million, the highest salary for any first-time top-billing actor ever. It is, of course, The Rock, now officially Dwayne Johnson, last seen in Get Smart (alongside another wrestler, The Great Khali, in the traditional silent henchman role).

Finally, a brief mention of a unique situation that enabled one wrestler to branch into films as a result of portraying another. George “The Animal” Steele was enlisted by Tim Burton to appear in Ed Wood, Burton’s biopic of the legendary B-movie director. Steele played Tor Johnson, who was discovered by Wood and considered the perfect monster for his film ventures, although his greatest role was not one of Wood’s, but the (understandably) little known Beast of Yucca Flats, a must-see for any B-movie fan. Make no mistake, Johnson’s acting abilities make every wrestler who has preceded him seem like a true thespian, but he may be the first wrestler to ever attempt an acting career, and, like at least one wrestler today, is now better known for his films than his in-ring ability.