3. Joel McHale
Former ‘The Soup’ host Joel McHale would be an unlikely character to consider to be someone with an athletic history. A little known fact about the ‘Community’ star is that he was actually recruited by the University of Washington for rowing, and he ended up representing the Huskies in football as well. Consider us bamboozled too.
Joel McHale
Following a set of seasons as a tight end, he ended up mostly as a walk-on for the team, which led him to explore some other passions. According to one of his teammates, he “had everything he needed: desire and want-to”. I guess he used this kind of grit to land his first acting gig, and the rest is history.
4. Forest Whitaker
The Oscar-winning actor is best known for his portrayal of Idi Amin apparently also had another dream when he was growing up. A star quarterback as a teenager, Forest Whitaker even received a scholarship to play for California State Polytechnic University, and pursuing a career in the NFL was looking like a viable option for him back then.
Forest Whitaker
As with many young football stars, Whitaker sustained a career-ending back injury, which led him to explore other alternatives. In a bizarre twist of fate, he would be cast to play a football player in ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High’ in the early eighties, which would see him channeling some of his earlier passions into his new one. This proved to be a good mood, as he would later walk away with multiple acclaimed awards, including a Golden Globe and an Academy Award.
