Sherdog’s Top 10: Hollywood Crossovers

Patrick WymanMar 26, 2015
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson made “The A-Team” in 2010. | Photo: D. Mandel/Sherdog.com



4. Quinton Jackson


Former UFC light heavyweight champion and longtime Pride Fighting Championships competitor “Rampage” Jackson built a heck of a career as a mixed martial artist. He has fought and beaten some of the greatest fighters of this generation, from Chuck Liddell and Dan Henderson to Wanderlei Silva, and parlayed his time competing at the highest levels during the sport’s golden age into true stardom.

A veteran of a bewildering multitude of B-level martial arts films that starred such luminaries as Flavor Flav, Jackson broke through with a starring turn in “The A-Team” in 2010. Starring alongside Bradley Cooper and Liam Neeson, Jackson played the role made famous by Mr. T with great aplomb, which made him one of the biggest names in MMA and a potential crossover star.

Jackson has yet to appear in another film of that caliber, though he has continued to act, and it is interesting to note that his contract with Bellator included a provision requiring the promotion to retain a screenwriter to develop a film with him as the leading man. Given the right role and the right circumstances, perhaps Jackson can find that elusive mainstream stardom.

Number 3 » Charisma is the hallmark of her appeal, and that holds true whether the discussion focuses on her undefeated run in mixed martial arts or her budding career as an entertainer. Her good looks certainly do not hurt, but far more important is the fact that she possesses that indefinable “it” factor that separates the merely skilled from the true stars.