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The List: Best acting performances by athletes
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The holiday movie season is just around the corner, and that got Page 2 thinking about the best performances by athletes on the big screen -- or even the small screen.

Check out our list of the top 10 performances by athletes, and then examine our readers' list and vote in the poll to crown the best acting effort by an athlete.


	Arnold Schwarzenegger terminates the competition with his performances as a villain.

Here's our list:

1. Arnold Schwarzenegger in "The Terminator" and "Pumping Iron"
He's lousy at comedy ("Twins," "Junior" and "Jingle All the Way") and so-so as a hero ("Total Recall," "Predator" and "Commando"), but the former body builder makes a great bad guy.

2. Carl Weathers in "Rocky"
The former Oakland Raider was a major player in one of the greatest sports movies ever made -- even if no one was rooting for him.

3. Alex Karras in "Blazing Saddles"
One of the funniest moments ever in an American movie was when the ex-Detroit Lion, as Mongo, punched out the horse in "Blazing Saddles."


	Ed Marinaro found a second career on "Hill Street Blues."

4. Ed Marinaro in "Hill Street Blues
A finalist for the 1971 Heisman Trophy as a running back at Cornell, Marinaro might be better known as an actor now after his critically acclaimed performance as Officer Joe Coffey on NBC's award-winning cop drama.

5. Alex English in "Amazing Grace and Chuck"
The high-scoring Denver Nuggets forward scored some serious points for his performance in the 1987 flick about a kid trying to end the threat of nuclear war.

6. O.J. Simpson in "Naked Gun"
Hey, you gotta give the guy his props. He was laugh-out-loud funny as Nordberg in the three "Naked Gun" films.


	Dwayne Johnson was Rock-solid in "The Mummy Returns."

7. The Rock (a k a Dwayne Johnson) in "The Mummy Returns"
After playing football at the University of Miami, Johnson spent some time in the Canadian Football League, a well-known training ground for great actors.

8. Cam Neely in "Dumb and Dumber"
Who can ever forget the former Boston Bruin's brilliant portrayal of Sea Bass, especially the scene where he traps Jim Carrey in a bathroom stall in an attempt to participate in some "manly love"?

9. Jim Brown in "The Dirty Dozen"
When the legendary NFL running back dropped those hand grenades down the pipes at the German officers' hideaway ... grown men cried.

10. Vinnie Jones in "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels"
The former English soccer star is one of director Guy Ritchie's main men.

Also receiving votes:
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in "Airplane," Julius Erving in "The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh," Merlin Olsen in "Little House on the Prairie," Ray Allen in "He Got Game," Chuck Conners in "The Rifleman," Rick Fox in "Oz," Marty McSorley in "Con Air," Kelly Slater (world surfing champion) in "Baywatch"



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