10 Wrestlers Who Flirted With Other Careers (And Then Came Back)

9. Bret Hart

Lex Luger WBF
WWE.com

Having seen Roddy Piper, Hulk Hogan, and Jesse Ventura already take the jump into the acting world, Bret Hart was somebody who wanted to follow suit.

Eyeing a career for himself once his wrestling days were over, Bret's first major move on the acting front was to land a role in the Western TV show, Lonesome Dove. In the years since, the Hitman has often stated how he viewed this series as a long-time commitment that would fully see him transition from the wrestling ring to the big and small screen.

While Lonesome Dove received largely positive feedback from fans and critics, the series would be completely canned after two seasons. As for Hart, his Luther Root impressed in the first season but was not brought back for Season 2.

Bret would, however, be brought back to the then-World Wrestling Federation and put on further all-time classic contests with names like Owen Hart, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, and a certain 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, before an infamous November 1997 night in Montreal saw the Excellence of Execution depart WWF for WCW.

Hart still maintained his dream to move into acting, but that career change was massively affected by the stroke Bret suffered in 2002. Following that, the Calgary icon has made fleeting acting appearances in offering such as a stage production of Aladdin and the upcoming horror anthology, Tales from the Dead Zone.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.