# Best Actor in Sports Movies of All-Time?



## Lewdog (Jul 21, 2013)

So I'm a huge movie and sports nut.  I've watched so many sports movies I couldn't accurately give you any kind of count.  This got me to thinking, who would I consider the best actor to play in sports movies of all-time?  Well four guys pop off the page right away.  

-Kurt Russel has played some great parts throughout the years.  It can start back in his Disney Days with the weight lifting movie _The_ _Strongest Man in the World, _the football movie with Robin Williams, _The Best of Times_, the football movie _Touchback_, and best of all the story of the 1980 U.S. hockey movie _Miracle_, where he plays hockey coach Herb Brooks.

-Paul Newman might be the best overall actor on this list, but the best sports actor?  He's played in a wide variety of sports movies over his long career.  He played an ex-SEC football player in _Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, _he played a boxer in _Somebody Up There Likes Me_ and _Hemingway's Adventures as a Young Man_, a baseball player in the television series _Bang the Drum Slowly,_ a billiards player in _The Hustler_ and _The Color of Money_, a gambler on sports in _The Sting_, a hockey player and coach in _Slap Shot_, and finally a race car driver in one of his favorite sports in the movie _Winning._

-Dennis Quaid has played in his fair share of fine movies throughout his career including some very fine sports ones.  The first one that many might not know about, he played part of a bicycle team in the movie _Breaking Away,_ a fighter in a tough man contest in _Tough Enough_, a football player in _Everybody's All-American_ and _Any Given Sunday,_ a baseball player in _The Rookie,_ a football coach in _The Express_, and finally the father of a professional surfer in the movie _Soul Surfer._

The actor whom I believe is the best sports actor, not based upon the quantity, but rather the quality of his movies...

-Kevin Costner is an award winning actor producer, and director.  He started early in baseball with the movie _Chasing Dreams,_ followed by such great baseball movies as  _Bull Durham_, _Field of Dreams_, and _For the Love of the Game_, a professional bicyclist in _American Flyers_, a professional gambler in _Stacey's Knights, a golfer in Tin Cup_, and finally in a new movie soon to be released he plays the General Manager of the Cleveland Brown's NFL team in the movie _Draft Day._

Obviously some actors have played in many more movies than Costner, but several of his movies have become classics in the industry cementing him at the top of my list.  So who is on your list?  Who do you think is the best of all-time?


----------



## Travers (Jul 21, 2013)

If you're talking about quality over quantity, then look no further than De Niro. 
_Bang the Drum Slowly_ (movie) and _Raging Bull _beat all the others you've listed, in my opinion.

I've got a soft spot for the _Rocky _franchise as well. So, with slight embarrassment, I'll put Sly forward too.


----------



## Lewdog (Jul 21, 2013)

Travers said:


> If you're talking about quality over quantity, then look no further than De Niro.
> _Bang the Drum Slowly_ (movie) and _Raging Bull _beat all the others you've listed, in my opinion.



He was also in _The Fan_, with Wesley Snipes.

I still find it hard to be Costner.  _Tin Cup_ could be one of the greatest golf movies ever, _Field of Dreams_ (Awards nominated and won Field of Dreams (1989) - Awards), and _Bull Durham_ is a baseball cult classic.


----------



## Travers (Jul 21, 2013)

Oh yeah, forgot about _The Fan_.

_Tin Cup _was great, and _Bull Durham_ OK. _Field of Dreams _was just far too saccharin for my tastes. Baseball doesn't really show up on my radar to be honest, so I'm less likely to find the movies about it all that thrilling. Having said that, I found _Moneyball _​a good watch.


----------



## patskywriter (Jul 22, 2013)

My favorite baseball movie is "The Kid from Left Field," from 1953, and the onscreen father and son team of Dan Dailey and Billy Chapin was endearing. Sure, it was a B movie, but the acting held it together.

Anthony Perkins did a great job in "Fear Strikes Out," the 1957 movie based on real-life Boston Red Sox outfielder Jimmy Piersall. The guy's dad was living vicariously through him, and worked him practically to death so that he could become a major-league baseball player. Perkins' portrayal of a man unraveling and finally "losing it" really impressed me when I was a kid. (If you watch the movie, please ignore the fact that Perkins was not only unathletic, but was also a lefty trying to play a righty. Everything else was spot on.)


----------



## Lewdog (Jul 22, 2013)

Wow Norman Bates was in a baseball movie?    If you want to go back to the old movies, you have to put Gary Cooper's performance as Lou Gehrig as one of the best single performances of all-time.


----------



## Bloggsworth (Jul 22, 2013)

Richard Harris in "This Sporting Life".


----------



## Edward Picot (Jul 22, 2013)

Martin Sheen gives a brilliant turn as Brian Clough, the English soccer manager, in _The Damned United. _It's a wonderful film, but you probably have to know something about English football and Clough himself to get the most out of it.

There's also Stacey Keach as a not-very-successful boxer in John Huston's _Fat City._


----------



## Lewdog (Jul 22, 2013)

Tom Cruise has had his fair share of good sports movies.  He played a high school football player in _All the Right Moves_, a pool hustler in _The Color of Money_, a race car driver in _Days of Thunder_, and a professional sports agent in _Jerry Maguire_.  All of those movies are very fine films, as far as sports movies go.


----------



## Deleted member 53128 (Jul 22, 2013)

Bruce Willis in "Die Hard". I don't care if it's not a sports movie, it's Die hard. And you can't argue with that statement.


----------



## Wolfwomansquil (Jul 27, 2013)

No one is going to say Trey Parker in _Basketball_ or Charlie Sheen in _Major League_? I am just kidding. I have to admit that _Field of Dreams, _was a movie I loved watching as a kid. When I saw the thread, the first person who came to mind was Kevin Costner.


----------



## escorial (Jul 27, 2013)

I enjoyed the  Phar lap movie some 20 years ago..never seen it since.


----------



## vangoghsear (Aug 1, 2013)

I was thinking Costner when I saw this thread title.  I don't care for him in other movies, but in sports movies, I really think he's good.  Much more natural.


----------



## Jcash22 (Dec 10, 2013)

Denzel Washington in Remember The Titans


----------



## Elvenswordsman (Dec 10, 2013)

De Niro, _Raging Bull._​


----------



## David D Bryce (May 5, 2014)

Difficult. American cinema has turned out some fantastically entertaining sports orientated films. I guess this can be attributed to the culture of the US having such an ingrained adoration for sport.

Bull Durum is an interesting piece as it examines the relationship between sex and sport through the game of baseball. Though personally i don't think for cultural reasons it had the same impact on me. Robert Redford in The Natural is however a highly entertaining baseball sports film, and has a strong feel good factor. Champion with Kirk Douglas is another that should be given an honourable mention to.


----------



## Greimour (May 5, 2014)

For me, it comes down to variables and opinions. 

For example, 

 Scott Mechlowicz I wouldn't rate as a great, but then - where do you draw the line for the actor? The ability to play the role? The ability to entertain? The ability to make the viewer believe the performance or believe he is the person in the part - not an actor on screen?

I don't know where the line is but in The Silent Warrior (gymnastics is a sport) then I think; had the role of Dan Millman been played by someone else, I would have found the film less interesting. Then, the same if Nick Nolte hadn't been Socrates.

---

I am not putting Scott on the top performers, I am just trying to establish what the question is really asking. (Though I equally liked Scott in Eurotrip where he played Scott Thomas - but that's not a sports film so... )

*"who would I consider the best actor to play in sports movies of all-time?"*

Let's take that literally in two parts: "Who is the best actor of all time?"
Now: rule out all the ones that did not play in a sports film and who is left?

So, best actor of all time? Probably impossible to say, but; Kevin Costner, Jason Statham, Robert De Niro, Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington, Tom Hanks ... the list goes on... and I have limited it to actors as that was what was stated, not actresses.

So, how many of them were in a sports film?

All of them? - What constitutes a sports film then... sports being the basis of the story? Does the actor have to be the one playing the role of the person playing the sport?

Morgan Freeman was in 'Million Dollar Baby' based on boxing, but he wasn't the boxer... does that rule him out?
Clint Eastwood, same film (M.D.Baby) was the coach/trainer... so he doesn't count for that film?
Denzel Washington was the coach in "Remember the Titans" (American football) does that rule him out because he wasn't a player?

---

So, what is the question?


My favourite actor of all time is probably Jason Statham... He was in 'Football Factory' (aka Mean Machine) based on football (soccer)
- I wouldn't rate the film as the best sports film... but does that then mean it doesn't answer the question of best actor to be in a sports film?
The film is good, the actor is amazing, his character was amazing and it made me like Statham even more and he played a goalkeeper - so he was a player in the film. 
Though the film was more than just about the sport and had underlying themes and whatnot... sport is still the primary in the film.

So - My answer then is Jason Statham?

Adam Sandler - I can easily give him 5 thumbs down for a performance in a film and a 5 thumbs up in another film. Sometimes he annoys the hell out of me, other times I think he is a genius. He was in quite a few sport films and some of them were great... including the American football version of Football Factory... but also includes Happy Gilmore, Waterboy and others. (I hated him in waterboy but I liked the film, go figure) and Happy Gilmore was my favourite film for a long time... up there with The Goonies, Cool Runnings and others...


Honestly, I don't know how to answer the question.

Was the question really: "What is the best sports film of all time that had a world class actor play a role?"
The answers so far, listing films greatness over the actors is what seems to be the real question...

Example: 

The Blind Side is a great film and American Football a dominant part of the story - no major actors though, so that one is ruled out?
-vs-
Rocky, an amazing film for Boxing and Stallone a big named actor, so that one is up there on the lists to be a possible  answer...

In which case, my answers would change dramatically.


----------



## Apple Ice (May 5, 2014)

Will Smith was undeniably good in "Ali". The film itself was a pile of dung and a massive, massive, monumental waste of a great opportunity to do something great. Smith's performance was sensational, however.


----------



## David D Bryce (May 5, 2014)

Apple Ice said:


> Will Smith was undeniably good in "Ali". The film itself was a pile of dung and a massive, massive, monumental waste of a great opportunity to do something great. Smith's performance was sensational, however.



Have you seen Six Degrees of Separation?


----------



## Apple Ice (May 5, 2014)

I haven't I'm afraid is it any good? I will Google it now


----------



## David D Bryce (May 5, 2014)

Apple Ice said:


> I haven't I'm afraid is it any good? I will Google it now



It's a bit of an obscure one but it is yes. Will Smith's first ever film, he wanted to do something independent before he went saving the world from anything and everything.


----------



## Apple Ice (May 5, 2014)

Ah ok, haha. He is a good actor but he lets himself take bad roles for some reason. Although, I would sell out in a second for all that money, too. I will give it a watch.

EDIT: just seen your comment about Kirk Douglas in Champion. Great shout. I loved that film


----------



## David D Bryce (May 5, 2014)

Apple Ice said:


> Ah ok, haha. He is a good actor but he lets himself take bad roles for some reason. Although, I would sell out in a second for all that money, too. I will give it a watch.
> 
> EDIT: just seen your comment about Kirk Douglas in Champion. Great shout. I loved that film



I blame the 90's. Actors where far less flexible in the roles they took, compared with today. Where established stars are free to do blockbusters and independents in equal measure.

Also another great boxing film is the 1979 remake of The Champ with Jon Voight.​


----------



## Bloggsworth (May 5, 2014)

The goal posts in Escape to Victory...


----------



## Apple Ice (May 5, 2014)

Yes, very true David. I've also seen that, another great one. Not enough boxing films, I think. Million Dollar Baby was dramtically, but the actually boxing in it was incredibly poor. It took away from the film for me. Hopefully there will be another boxing film soon.


----------



## David D Bryce (May 5, 2014)

Apple Ice said:


> Yes, very true David. I've also seen that, another great one. Not enough boxing films, I think. Million Dollar Baby was dramtically, but the actually boxing in it was incredibly poor. It took away from the film for me. Hopefully there will be another boxing film soon.



I rather watch Warrior over Million Dollar Baby.


----------



## Greimour (May 6, 2014)

David D Bryce said:


> I rather watch Warrior over Million Dollar Baby.



The fighting was better in Warrior, but Million Dollar baby was better acting and better story imo... besides, warrior was mixed martial arts, MDB was female boxing and the producers, script writers and others involved doubted the interest level of female boxing for a screen audience - they relied heavily on the story around it - not so much the fighting itself.

As far as boxing goes, I liked 'The Fighter' but then, I am a fan of Mark Wahlberg.

Cinderella man was probably the one I liked the most and got the most from. It changed some of the ways I view the world.

Gladiator (1992) was another boxing movie I liked... starring Cuba Gooding Jr. Definitely worth the watch in my opinion to those who like boxing movies and haven't seen it. Good boxing, good fighting and good acting with a good story.


I still think this is off topic though... still talking about films, not the actors... "Best Actor in Sports Movies of All Time"

:/


----------



## Bloggsworth (May 6, 2014)

To be serious for once, the most outstanding sports film and acting performance I have ever seen was that of Richard Harris in "This Sporting Life".


----------



## kilroy214 (May 6, 2014)

Robert Redford in _The Natural_


----------



## Apple Ice (May 6, 2014)

Cinderella Man wrongly depicted Max Baer as the Devil incarnate when in reality he as a very loving, funny and caring man who campaigned vigorously against what was taking place in Germany throughout the 1930's and 40's. Other than that clanger it was a fairly solid film. But yes, this is perhaps digressing a bit. I will have to watch Gladiator as I like Gooding.


----------



## Quentin (May 15, 2014)

Robert De Niro (_Raging Bull_)
Denzel Washington (_Remember the Titans_)
Al Pacino/Jamie Foxx (_Any Given Sunday_)
Cuba Gooding Jr. (_Radio_)
Brad Pitt (_Moneyball_)

Favourite sports movie: _Cool Runnings_ (watched it at least a hundred times as a child)


----------

