“He’s a Goon!”- Michael Phelps Once Lost a Huge Hollywood Role After His Monologue Horrified Millionaire Producer

Published 07/02/2022, 10:11 AM EDT

Many famous athletes pivoted to Hollywood and found illustrious careers in acting. Before the fame of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, and even Arnold Schwarzenegger was the era of Steve Reeves and Johnny Weissmuller. And legendary swimmer Michael Phelps almost walked in those footsteps.

Johnny Weissmuller, the five-time Olympic champion with 67 swimming records, became even more famous as a motion-picture actor, most notably in the role of Tarzan. And when the franchise got a remake, the producer Jerry Weintraub’s first choice was Phelps.

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Michael Phelps could have been the next Weissmuller

Vanity Fair writer Rich Cohen’s August cover story detailed his experience with the great bearish movie producer Jerry Weintraub. Unfortunately, Weintraub passed away when the Tarzan movies were in post-production. But Cohen relays his experience with picking the man for the role.

Initially, Weintraub had his heart set on Michael Phelps playing the title role for the franchise. “It’s going to be like Johnny Weissmuller,” Weintraub told Cohen. “All the reporters are going to say, ‘Weintraub found the new Johnny Weissmuller!'”

But the producer hadn’t seen Phelps anywhere other than the pool yet. The opportunity to see his charm on-screen arrived when the swimmer hosted ‘Saturday Night Live’. “As he watched Phelps’s monologue, I watched him, his mood shifting from excited to perturbed, green to red,” Cohen wrote.

“Two minutes in, Jerry turned to his assistant and shouted, ‘This isn’t Tarzan! This isn’t Johnny Weissmuller! He’s a goon! Why didn’t anyone tell me he’s a goon? Turn it off. Goddammit, turn it off.'” In the end, the role went to ‘True Blood’ actor Alexander Skarsgård.

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Phelps never really had a silver screen breakthrough

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Acting has never sat quite as right for the Olympian the way swimming did. Once, he admitted that it would be tougher to act than do his decorated day job. “It’s much harder than it is to swim, that is for sure,” he told Jimmy Kimmel on ABC’s pre-Emmy Awards special.

But that’s not to say we haven’t seen Michael Phelps in Hollywood. With his limited acting capabilities, Phelps has made cameos in some iconic shows. He appeared, as himself, in the hit series ‘Entourage’, and even an episode of the world-famous show ‘Suits’.

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Unfortunately, he couldn’t quite translate his charm to the Saturday Night Monologue, which lost him the opportunity to land an iconic role. Though watching him poke fun at himself was quite enjoyable.

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Written by:

Mansi Jain is a US Sports author for EssentiallySports. She has a Bachelor's degree in Multimedia and Mass Communication from the University of Delhi and has also previously interned for HT Media. She is always one mention of Yuzuru Hanyu away from delivering an hour-long speech about the athlete's legacy.

Edited by:

Simar Singh Wadhwa

“He’s a Goon!”- Michael Phelps Once Lost a Huge Hollywood Role After His Monologue Horrified Millionaire Producer

Michael Phelps could have been the next Weissmuller

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Phelps never really had a silver screen breakthrough