Not everyone’s path to success starts with comedy. People from all different walks of life have gone on to add “Comedic Actor” to their résumés later in their careers, including football players. Rare as the phenomenon might be, some former athletes have even managed to make a splash by making people laugh. Here are a few funny people who began their entertainment journeys on the gridiron.
4. MIKE HENRY
Comedy fans will undoubtedly recognize Mike Henry as Sheriff Buford T. Justice’s dimwitted son, Junior, from the Smokey and the Bandit movies, but long before that, he was an NFL linebacker. Henry played for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1958 to 1961 and then transferred to the Los Angeles Rams in pursuit of a career in Hollywood. He eventually appeared in comedy films like The Longest Yard and Smokey and the Bandit, alongside Burt Reynolds, who had aspirations to play in the NFL in his college days.
3. LOU FERRIGNO
Prior to landing a recurring role on The King of Queens (and in I Love You, Man) as a fictional version of himself, and more famously as the Incredible Hulk, Lou Ferrigno was briefly a defensive lineman in the Canadian Football League. He played for the Toronto Argonauts for about a month back in 1976, and decided it wasn’t for him because he didn’t like hitting people.
2. TERRY CREWS
Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Terry Crews played pro football for six years between 1991 and 1996. During that time, he was a defensive end and linebacker for the Los Angeles Rams, San Diego Chargers, and Washington Redskins, and also had a short stint in the now-defunct World League of American Football in Europe. He also signed with the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles at different points, but didn’t play in any games for them.
1. ED O’NEILL
Much like his character Al Bundy from Married…With Children, Ed O’Neill was a football player in his younger years who didn’t make it as far as he would’ve liked professionally. He was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted rookie free agent in 1969, but despite things going well for a couple of weeks, he didn’t make it past training camp.
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