Is Hollywood in A-Rods future?
Since the days of Babe Ruth, Hollywood has been intrigued by the idea of cashing in on the fame of Americas sports stars by putting…
Alex Rodriguez could be headed to a post-baseball career in Hollywood. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)
Since the days of Babe Ruth, Hollywood has been intrigued by the idea of cashing in on the fame of Americas sports stars by putting them on the silver screen.
It has never really succeeded, unless you count former NFL running back legend Jim Brown, whose roles included The Dirty Dozen and the steamy scenes with Raquel Welch in 100 Rifles.
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Today, there is talk in Tinseltown that New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez could be headed to a post-baseball career in Hollywood, which has been in dire need of Latino leading men in films and television.
If he goes that route, he has set up house in Los Angeles perfectly, having just bought Oscar winner Meryl Streeps Hollywood Hills home for $4.5 million.
Every leading man in Hollywood is for the most part endowed with good looks and A-Rod fits the role perfectly, says Hollywood columnist Joe Rico, who seems to believe that Rodriguez could become an action film star.
He does have a superhero physique that men envy. Women pay to see handsome men at the box office and guys already have proven that they support sports movies.
Rodriguez, of course, has been serving his highly-publicized years suspension from baseball for his steroid involvement this season and spending much of his time in Los Angeles, working out at UCLA and reportedly meeting with producers.
But it may not be as an actor that ARod does Hollywood. People close to him say Rodriguez also has an interest in producing.
Alex Rodriguez had a series of romances with Hollywood leading ladies, such as Cameron Diaz, Kate Hudson and Madonna. (Photo by George Pimentel/Getty Images for Creative Artists Agency)
Alex has a good business head on his shoulders, says a friend of his in the entertainment business. He sees tremendous possibilities in producing films and cable projects aimed at the Latino audience that few are reaching out to.
Rodriguez already has been quietly investing in real estate, gyms and car dealerships that sources say have been earning him as much as $20 million a year from his non-baseball business dealings an indication of his business acumen
In Los Angeles this summer, hes had meetings with Magic Johnson, former junk-bond king-turned-philanthropist Michael Milken and actress Eva Longoria.
It isnt, after all, as if Rodriguez is completely new to Hollywood.
A few years ago actress Cameron Diaz was working on a developing a romantic comedy in which she would co-star with ARod, who was her boyfriend at the time.
The 39-year-old slugger, in fact, had a series of romances with Hollywood leading ladies, among them Kate Hudson, and others: from Madonna to Julianne Hough.
He has also dropped sports agent Scott Boras to sign on with Dan Lozano, as well as the William Morris agency for his commercial and acting work.
I think its fair to say that he could be a better actor than Bret Favre, says Hollywood journalist and critic Ben Mankiewicz, alluding to the former NFL legends role in Something About Mary, the 1998 film in which Diaz also starred.
Mankiewiczs words are an indication that Hollywood minds arent necessarily closed on the idea of ARod as an actor, especially when you consider the muscle-bound men who have successfully crossed over from Arnold Schwarzenegger to The Rock.
For his part, Rodriguez says Hollywood is an opportunity that has been a silver lining in his suspension.
I think that in the year 2014, the league could have done me a favor because I’ve played 20 years without a timeout, he said in one of his first comments about missing the season. I think 2014 will be a year to rest mentally and physically prepare myself for the future and begin a new chapter of my life.
