Sherdog’s Top 10: Hollywood Crossovers

Patrick WymanMar 26, 2015

Oleg Taktarov has enjoyed a fruitful acting career. | Photo: J. Sherwood/Sherdog.com

2. Oleg Taktarov

Taktarov might be the only entrant on this list who is better known through his second career as an actor than his first as a mixed martial artist. During his time as a fighter, however, Taktarov was one of the best in the world. He built on his deep base in sambo and judo to carve out a space for himself in the early SEG-era UFC shows, beating the likes of David Abbott and Marco Ruas before going through several lengthy retirements. Taktarov also fought Dan Severn, Ken Shamrock, Renzo Gracie and Gary Goodridge, competing in both Pride Fighting Championships and the UFC.

Taktarov’s career in film started the late 1990s with small roles in action movies, including the Harrison Ford vehicle “Air Force One” and “15 Minutes,” which starred Robert De Niro. Michael Bay cast him in “Bad Boys II,” and he caught a major break when he appeared in “National Treasure” as one of the villain’s henchmen. His biggest role came in 2010, however, when he appeared in “Predators,” a franchise reboot starring Adrien Brody. He fits the role of the dangerous Nikolai, a chaingun-wielding Russian mercenary, quite perfectly.

Since then, Taktarov has starred mostly in Russian-language films and TV, though he looks to be making a return to movies in the United States in the near future.

Number 1 » She stands alone as MMA’s greatest crossover into the world of Hollywood. A former muay Thai competitor who compiled a 12-1-1 record in the striking art, she turned to MMA in 2006 and quickly ran up a 7-0 mark.