History Main / NonActorVehicle

** ''The Girlfriend Experience'' stars porn actress Sasha Grey as a high-class callgirl.

* Creator/SonjaHenie in ''One in a Million''. She made quite a few films after that.
* Swimmer Esther Williams started a similar screen career with a supporting part in ''Film/AndyHardy's Double Life''. A series of star vehicles followed, starting with ''Bathing Beauty''.

* Creator/RandyCouture in the [[DirectToVideo straight to DVD]] sequel to ''The Scorpion King'', subtitled "Rise Of A Warrior".

** Mitch Gaylord in ''American Anthem''[[note]]his co-star was Janet Jones, who went on to become Mrs. UsefulNotes/WayneGretzky[[/note]].
* Ray Allen in ''He Got Game''.

* UsefulNotes/JackieRobinson in ''The Jackie Robinson Story''.
* Both versions of ''Ice Castles'' starred professional figure skaters: Creator/LynnHollyJohnson in the 1978 original (she turned to acting full-time after the film) and Taylor Firth in the 2010 remake.

* Rudolf Nureyev (ballet dancer) as Rudolph Valentino (silent movie star) in ''Valentino''.

* Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris in ''Safe at Home!''

** Hamilton did play bit and cameo roles in a number of films as well, notably in the ''Franchise/{{Cars}}'' franchise and in ''Film/Zoolander2''. And as a mechanic in ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyInfiniteWarfare'' of all things.
* Ditto with UsefulNotes/ConorMcGregor, who also played as an antagonist in ''Infinite Warfare''.

* ''Ice Girls'', a MadeForTVMovie, was one for Michaela Du Toit and Taylor Hunsley, two teenage Canadian figure skaters. Elvis Stojko, a dedicated Olympic skater and silver medalist, also had a supporting role.

* The NBA's Kyrie Irving plays the titular character in the 2018 comedy ''Uncle Drew'', reprising the role from a series of Pepsi Max ads that began in 2012.

* Prior to Pacquiao, Gabriel "Flash" Elorde appeared in a number of films to capitalise on the success of his boxing career. He played AsHimself in the [[BioPic autobiographical film]] ''The Flash Elorde Story'' in 1961 and alongside Creator/FernandoPoeJr in ''Mano-mano'' (1964). Elorde was also remembered for a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tw7XcmqnCOs San Miguel Beer commercial]] where he appeared alongside notable Filipino celebrities Bert Marcelo and Rico J. Puno, uttering "... isang platitong mani!" (A [small] plate of peanuts!).
* Fellow Filipino pugilist and 1996 Olympic silver medalist Creator/OnyokVelasco played an autobiographical role in ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin The Onyok Velasco Story]]''. He has since pursued a career in acting as he found it to be more financially sustainable, also lamenting that the government failed to support his previous athletic efforts.

* It was only a TV movie, but Vanna White of ''Series/WheelOfFortune'' fame starred in ''Goddess of Love'' on NBC. At that point in her career, the only other TV experience she had was… as a contestant on ''Series/ThePriceIsRight'' in 1980 (two years before she took over the ''Wheel'' role she holds to this day).

* Music/TheAndrewsSisters headlined a couple of American army morale-boosting films during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, such as ''Private Buckaroo'' and ''Swingtime Johnny''.

* Music/BritneySpears in ''Crossroads''.
* Music/DavidBowie in ''Film/TheManWhoFellToEarth''. Although he didn't really act before this, he studied mime and acting in TheSixties as his recording career slowly gained ground and incorporated his new skills into his stage act. He went on to appear in a number of films in both lead and supporting roles, such as ''Film/MerryChristmasMrLawrence'' and ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'', and performed on Broadway as the title character in ''The Elephant Man'' in 1980.

* Music/OliviaNewtonJohn in ''Film/{{Grease}}'', though she started out her career this way as well, in the obscure film ''Toomorrow'', a sci-fi musical starring the band she fronted at the time, also called Toomorrow, a prefab group assembled by impresario Don Kirshner after he was ousted as the music supervisor for Music/TheMonkees.
* Creator/DorisDay, before starring in ''Romance on the High Seas'', was known only as a singer. She went on to become one of the biggest movie stars of [[TheFifties the late 1950s]].

* Music/FiftyCent in ''Get Rich or Die Tryin''. He did later appear in a number of films, occasionally credited under his birth name, e.g. "Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson".
* Cellist Yo-Yo Ma in the Creator/AtomEgoyan film ''[[http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/sara.html Sarabande]]''.

* The 1956 Broadway musical ''Mr. Wonderful'' gave Creator/SammyDavisJr his first starring role; it incorporated a large portion of his nightclub act wholesale.

* Alex Cox (of ''Film/RepoMan'') made ''Film/StraightToHell'' when a musical tour of Nicaragua was canceled. A bunch of 1980s musicians and other oddballs were stuck with nothing else to do, so Cox decided to take them to Spain to make a weird and wacky SpaghettiWestern parody starring, among others, Music/ElvisCostello, The Circle Jerks, Music/ThePogues, Amazulu, Creator/JimJarmusch, Grace Jones and a very young Music/CourtneyLove.
** Also featured in ''Straight to Hell'' was Joe Strummer, frontman for Music/TheClash (and, for a time, the Pogues). Strummer actually appeared in several films, including a cameo (alongside Clash bandmate Mick Jones) in Martin Scorcese's ''Film/TheKingOfComedy.''

* Music/TheEraserheads were featured in the 1995 Joey de Leon gay comedy film ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VwnF9_U1xU Run Barbi Run]]'' where they appeared as the in-house band at the bar where the titular character took refuge in.

* Fellow Bones Brigade alumni Creator/RodneyMullen--of all people--starred in ''VideoGame/GhostReconBreakpoint'' as tech mogul Jace Skell. While Mullen has appeared in most entries of the ''VideoGame/TonyHawksProSkater'' series and served as a skating stunt double in films, ''Breakpoint'' is so far his only acting credit where he doesn't play AsHimself or in a skateboarding-related role; though it could be argued that Rodney was basically just acting AsHimself ''a la'' ''8 Mile'' as he simply projected his personality into the character of Jace Skell.

* Fellow Bones Brigade alumni Rodney Mullen--of all people--starred in ''VideoGame/GhostReconBreakpoint'' as tech mogul Jace Skell. While Mullen has appeared in most entries of the ''VideoGame/TonyHawksProSkater'' series and served as a skating stunt double in films, ''Breakpoint'' is so far his only acting credit where he doesn't play AsHimself or in a skateboarding-related role.

* Website/TikTok personality Addison Rae in Creator/{{Netflix}}'s ''Film/HesAllThat''.

* [[TransparentCloset Camp pianist]] Music/{{Liberace}} in ''Film/SincerelyYours'', in which he played... a camp pianist. He had a similar role as special guest villain "Chandell" (and his "twin brother Harry") in ''Series/{{Batman}}''.

* Professional cosplayer Creator/JessicaNigri was given the starring role in the English dub of the ''Anime/SuperSonico'' anime. It's {{downplayed|Trope}} example, though, since she had previously voiced Cinder Fall in ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}''.

* Professional cosplayer Creator/JessicaNigri was given the starring role in the English dub of the ''Anime/SuperSonico'' anime.

* Creator/JohnFord cast tennis champion Althea Gibson as Lukey in ''Film/theHorseSoldiers'' partly to attract African-American viewers. Gibson was a racial-barrier-breaking athlete, the female Jackie Robinson of tennis, who--just prior to being featured in this film--had won both the Wimbledon and US Open tennis championships in 1957 and 1958.

* Creator/JohnFord cast tennis champion Althea Gibson as Lukey partly to attract African-American viewers. Gibson was a racial-barrier-breaking athlete, the female Jackie Robinson of tennis, who--just prior to being featured in this film--had won both the Wimbledon and US Open tennis championships in 1957 and 1958.

** ''Film/TheCondemned'', starring Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin.

Hiring of a big celebrity in a '''starring role''' (''not'' a supporting or minor one), even if it's not the sole major role, in a movie, play, or TV show. Only, this celebrity isn't known for acting. In fact, this may be the celebrity's first acting job. A close cousin of StuntCasting, only with a bit more risk, since the stunt castee doesn't have much experience (if any), and is practically carrying the project despite that inexperience.

So why is it done with such risks? Well, the fact is that [[Creator/WillSmith this]] [[Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger sometimes]] [[Music/DavidBowie works]] (it tends to work better for stand-up comedians, singers, and [[{{Kayfabe}} pro wrestlers]], being close to what they normally do for a living anyway). Also, even if the vehicle is a failure, the new actor may still have a career afterwards.

* The action movie ''Film/BetYourLife'' was made to showcase the 'talents' of Sean Carrrigan and Corinne Van Ryck de Groot: the male and female winners of the RealityShow ''Series/NextActionStar''.

* [[TransparentCloset Camp pianist]] Music/{{Liberace}} in ''Film/SincerelyYours'', in which he played... a camp pianist.