The 15 Greatest Athlete Cameos of All Time

Hines Ward isn’t known for his lack of toughness, but explosions and a collapsing field can change all of that. Ward’s performance in 'The Dark Knight Rises' was a good cameo if only for the fact that it looked like he was running scared.

Lee Travino might have regretted being involved in 'Happy Gilmore,' but his deadpan look is something that not many actors can pull off naturally. And in a film with comedy, that is a great talent to have.

Terry Bradshaw brings his charisma and energy over from the analyst’s desk to the movie screen in Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker’s movie 'Failure to Launch.' He plays McConaughey’s father and is known most for his scene where he is wearing very little clothing.

Brett Favre’s role in 'There’s Something About Mary' was simply to be Brett Favre. He pulled it off, but he also showed that his acting could improve as well.

Tom Brady is one of the greatest NFL quarterbacks of all time. But he can also act as well. He had a great performance in 'Ted 2' by playing to his strengths well and not looking out of place.

Darius Miles might have had a subpar NBA career, but he did find success in the 'National Lampoon’s Van Wilder.' His acting in this movie led him to even have leading role in another movie as well.

LeBron is not only great on the court, but off of it as well. He played a major role in the movie 'Trainwreck,' but his breakout performance was on 'Entourage.' He doesn’t appear for long, but one can tell that his lines feel natural to him.

Ray Allen may be known for his shots on the court, but his role as Jesus Shuttleworth is almost as famous as his shot. Even at such a young age, Allen showed that he would be great in any area he wanted to.

John McEnroe is known for his temper and he didn’t try to hide it in the movie 'Mr. Deeds.' One well-known point in the movie is when he manages to jump over a car and show great athleticism.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played himself while also playing co-pilot Roger Murdock in the film 'Airplane.' Abdul-Jabbar is known for his lack of personality and attitude as a player, but this film showed there is much more to Abdul-Jabbar than meets the eye.

One of the most famous points of the movie 'Dodgeball' came when Lance Armstrong gave his speech about not giving up. At the time, it seemed uplifting. Now the speech is ironic because Armstrong cheated and wasn’t worthy of giving a speech about not giving up.

Michael Jordan isn’t just a basketball player: he is a brand. Once his brand found Looney Tunes, 'Space Jam' became one of the most well-known movies with an athlete in it. Jordan even found a way to incorporate his first retirement as a part of the movie.

In Lawrence Taylor’s role in 'The Waterboy,' Taylor stood alongside waterboy Bobby Boucher. Taylor asked Boucher to tell the children his secret to success and Boucher responded by saying words no one could understand. Taylor couldn’t tell what Boucher was saying and so he chose to use Boucher as an example not to do drugs.

Dallas Cowboys legend Michael Irvin relived his football career in the movie the longest yard. His role as the hardcore inmate was great and it managed to take pieces from the bad boy that Irvin used to be while he was with the Dallas Cowboys.

Mike Tyson may have not have had a lengthy appearance in 'The Hangover,' but he did play a role in helping the three main characters recover their best friend. Plus, fans got to see Mike Tyson knock someone out. That’s great enough.