Former UCLA Athletes who are and were actors and more

More former UCLA athletes who went on to become actors.

Sport: Football
Years played at UCLA: 1937-39
Career stats: N/A
Best Known for: The Film Spartacus

Strode was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in “Spartacus.”

He also appeared in films such as “The Ten Commandments,” “The Longest Day,” “Sergeant Rutledge,” and “Once Upon a Time in the West.”

Strode was a pioneer in both football and film. He was one of the first African-American players to break the color barrier in the NFL, and he helped pave the way for other African-American actors in Hollywood. Strode was a talented and versatile performer, and he starred in a wide range of films during his career.

Sport: Basketball
Years played at UCLA: 1965-68
Career stats: 13.7 points per game, 4.0 rebounds per game
Best Known for: The TV show Hill Street Blues

Warren won back-to-back national championships at UCLA before beginning an acting career that led to a recurring role on Hill Street Blues, one of network television’s best dramas in the 1980s.

His performance on Hill Street Blues was critically acclaimed, and he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 1981.

He appeared in a number of guest roles on television shows, including Adam-12, The Rookies, and Starsky & Hutch.

Sport: Basketball
Years played at UCLA: 1966-69
Career stats: 26.4 points per game, 15.5 rebounds per game
Best Known for: The movie Airplane

Abdul-Jabbar’s basketball success and fame earned him a role in the comedy Airplane!. Abdul-Jabbar has appeared in a number of TV shows and movies over the years, including the TV series 21 Jump Street, D2: The Mighty Ducks, Everybody Loves Raymond, Scrubs, and The Big Bang Theory.

Abdul-Jabbar has also appeared in a number of documentaries about his life and basketball career, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: More Than a Game (2000) and Kareem: Minority of One (2015).

In addition to his acting career, Abdul-Jabbar is also a producer and writer. He produced the documentary On the Shoulders of Giants (2011), which tells the story of the UCLA Bruins basketball team of the 1960s, and he wrote the episode “Entering a World of Pain” of the TV show Veronica Mars (2019).

Sport: Football
Years played at UCLA: 1972-73
Career stats: 845 passing yards, nine passing TDs, 976 rushing yards, 14 running TD
Best Known for: The TV show NCIS

Mark Harmon, is best known today for his role as Leroy Jethro Gibbs on NCIS, and he left NCIS in 2021 after 18 seasons. He remains the executive producer of the show. He starred in such films as Summer School, Wyatt Earp, and Freaky Friday.

He also starred in various TV shows like St. Elsewhere, Reasonable Doubts, Chicago Hope, and The West Wing.

Harmon is a respected actor and producer. He has had a successful career in both television and film. Harmon is a role model for many aspiring actors and producers, and he is a true icon of the entertainment industry.