Jim Brown: What to Know About His Hollywood Acting Career

One Night in Miami is now streaming on Prime Video, and it talks about the meeting between Jim Brown, Malcolm X, Sam Cooke and Muhammad Ali. In the film, Brown is talking about retiring from the NFL and pursue an acting career. Brown actually did that as he officially called it quits in while on the film The Dirty Dozen. From there, Brown went on to star in various films and TV shows over the next 40 years.

While The Dirty Dozen is not Brown’s first appearance in a movie, it became one of his most notable roles. The film starred Lee Marvin and Charles Bronson, but Brown stood out above the ensemble cast. Brown played Robert Jefferson, a soldier during World War II who sacrificed himself for his county.

When The Dirty Dozen was released in 1967, Brown’s film career took off. He went on land lead roles in The Split, Riot and 100 Rifles, which features Burt Reynolds and Raquel Welch. One of the most notable scenes in 100 Rifles was the love scene between Brown and Welch, as it broke racial barriers.

“When I was doing 100 Rifles and I found out I’d be working with Jim Brown, I was more concerned with whether he could act because he was primarily known as a football player,” Welch said in a 2012 interview with Men’s Health. “But he was great.” Brown continued to work into the 1970s and the 1980s. One of his most notable films from the ’80s is the blaxploitation parody film I’m Gonna Git You Sucka, which starred Kennen Ivory Wayans, John Witherspoon and Isaac Hayes.

In the 1990s, Brown starred in films such as He Got Game, Mars Attacks! and Any Given Sunday, which had various former football players such as Dick Butkus, Warren Moon, Y.A. Tittle, Johnny Unitas, and Lawrence Taylor. Brown played Monte Monroe, the defensive coordinator for the Miami Sharks.

In the 2000s, Brown’s film career slowed down. His last credited appearance was the 2014 film Draft Day, where he made a cameo appearance as himself. Draft Day is about Cleveland Browns general manager Sonny Weaver Jr. (Kevin Costner) handling the pressure of making the right first-round draft pick. Along with Costner, Draft Day also stars Jennifer Garner, Denis Leary, Sam Elliott and Chadwick Boseman.