Eric Cantona, Pele, Vinnie Jones,…
Over the years, a few accomplished footballers have made the jump to acting.
In our minds, though, those names will always be players first, actors second. (Note: That might change for Cantona if the rave reviews for an upcoming Netflix drama are any indication.)
There are also actors who tried to make it on the field before they decided that the big screen was their true calling.
The game was their first love, their first passion. And a few even played at a decent level.
Here are a few actors and on-screen personalities who played soccer seriously before they decided they were better off on a set than a field.
Cristo Fernandez
By now, Dani Rojas’s catchphrase on Ted Lasso — “Futbol Is Life” — has become a global phenomenon. But it has some basis in reality for the man behind Rojas, Cristo Fernandez. Before he became an actor, Fernandez was an up-and-coming talent in the academy at Tecos, a club in his hometown of Guadalajara, Mexico. A knee injury forced a career change when he was 15.
Elisabeth Shue
Long before she won our hearts in The Karate Kid and received an Oscar nomination for Leaving Las Vegas, Shue was a talented soccer player in New Jersey. Times were different then, though — she had to play on a boys’ team. "Every time I played, I knew everyone was watching me,” she said. “And they definitely hit me a little harder. But I would always hit them a little harder back.”
In 2007, Shue and her brother, Andrew — who actually played for the LA Galaxy in 1996 — made Gracie, a soccer film about her experiences growing up.
Watch Gracie on Amazon.
Jon Stewart
To get the scoop on the legendary Daily Show host, we actually contacted his former coach at The College of William & Mary in Virginia. “Jon was a good player, a walk-on who became a three-year starter. He scored the goal in 1983 at UConn in a huge 1-0 win for us. And, as you can imagine, he was very funny in the locker room.”
Colin Farrell
In Bruges star Farrell dreamed of following his father and uncle, both of whom played for Irish club Shamrock Rovers, into footy fame. But the young Farrell’s skills weren’t quite as strong as his acting talent. “Certainly, when I was 13 or 14, I knew for sure that I'd dropped the ball, so to speak," he said. Footy’s loss. Hollywood’s gain.
Julia Stiles
It’s probably a coincidence that Stiles’s breakthrough on-screen performance came in 10 Things I Hate about You, which just happened to have several soccer scenes. But we choose to think otherwise. She was mad about the game, and even as an undergrad at Columbia was playing some serious footy in an Irish league in the Bronx. She often showed up at soccer practice after a film shoot and her makeup and fake tattoos “would get all smeared.”
Watch 10 Things I Hate About You on Apple TV.
