15 Actors Who Really Can’t Play Sports

We’ve seen sports stars try to act in the past, and it’s clear why they didn’t choose that career path: it wasn’t for them. The same is true for actors when trying to play a sport, most of them are simply not cut out for it. But we judge them more harshly because it’s part of their job to convince us otherwise.

You’d think that part of the casting process in any given movie is making sure that your actor can at least look the part. Well, sometimes a certain actor just needs to be in a film, either due to contractual constraints or marketing strategies. This is how you end up with lists like this one, where we point at their performances and laugh.

Keanu Reeves

Keanu Reeves is beloved as an action star, but his quarterback performance in The Replacements has often drawn criticism. Some football fans felt his throwing mechanics looked awkward compared to what they’d expect from a professional player.

Dennis Quaid

Despite being athletic in real life, some baseball fans have pointed to Dennis Quaid’s pitching scenes in The Rookie as occasionally looking more like an actor performing baseball than an actual major-league pitcher.

Mark Wahlberg

Mark Wahlberg played Vince Papale in Invincible, but some viewers felt his age and movement made it difficult to fully buy him as a professional football player competing at the highest level.

Charlie Sheen

Charlie Sheen’s performance in Major League remains entertaining, but baseball fans have long noticed that his pitching delivery occasionally lacks the fluidity expected from an elite professional pitcher.

Wesley Snipes

Wesley Snipes starred in Major League, but several baseball observers have noted that his batting and fielding scenes sometimes reveal a performer acting athletic rather than a naturally gifted ballplayer.

Matt LeBlanc

Matt LeBlanc starred as a baseball player in the family comedy Ed. While the movie is remembered more for its chimpanzee co-star than athletic realism, LeBlanc never quite looked like a convincing professional ballplayer.

Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise excels at action sequences, yet his baseball scenes in War of the Worlds are occasionally cited online by fans who feel his throwing motion looks surprisingly unnatural.

Michael J. Fox

Michael J. Fox’s basketball scenes in Teen Wolf became iconic, but even supporters of the film admit the athletic action was never the movie’s strongest or most convincing element.

Freddie Prinze Jr.

In Summer Catch, Freddie Prinze Jr. played as an elite baseball prospect. While charming in the role, some viewers felt his mechanics occasionally looked more Hollywood than professional sports.

Tobey Maguire

Tobey Maguire portrayed jockey Red Pollard in Seabiscuit. Although praised for the performance, some racing fans felt he never entirely shed the appearance of an actor playing an athlete.

Robert Redford

Robert Redford’s baseball drama The Natural is beloved, but some critics have noted that his age during filming occasionally made the supposedly elite athlete seem less convincing physically.

Brendan Fraser

Brendan Fraser starred in The Scout as a baseball phenom with impossible talent. While charismatic, some sports fans felt the athletic sequences struggled to match the extraordinary abilities described by the script.

Dean Cain

Before acting, Dean Cain actually played sports at a high level, yet his baseball scenes in The Broken Hearts Club have still been criticized by viewers who expected greater athletic realism.

Woody Harrelson

Despite starring in the basketball comedy White Men Can’t Jump, Woody Harrelson’s athletic credibility was frequently part of the joke itself, with much of the film built around the assumption that people would underestimate him on the court.

Chris Pratt

Chris Pratt starred in the baseball drama Moneyball as real-life first baseman Scott Hatteberg. While the performance worked dramatically, some baseball fans felt his swing and overall on-field movement looked more actorly than genuinely professional-athlete level.