Scotty McCreery has reached the final round of 12 during Season 10 of American Idol and the North Carolina native has taken time off from his role as pitcher on the Garner Magnet (N.C.) baseball team to compete on the popular television show.
Of course McCreery wouldn't be the first person to leave the sports world behind for the entertainment industry. Here are few people who participated, and in some cases even excelled, in sports at the high school level before achieving celebrity status:
BRAD PITTThe star of the "Ocean's 11" movie series and "Fight Club" played on the tennis, golf and swim teams at
Kickapoo (Springfield, Mo.), graduating in 1982.
TOM CRUISE
A knee injury that prevented Cruise from participating on the wrestling team at
Glen Ridge (N.J.) reportedly led to Cruise's interest in acting and Hollywood stardom.
GEORGE CLOONEY
Although the high school Clooney attended in
Augusta (Ky.), did not have football, Clooney was reportedly a member of the basketball and baseball teams and even tried out for the Cincinnati Reds in 1977. Clooney has gone on to win two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award.
CHARLIE SHEEN
Known as Charlie Estevez in high school, Sheen attended
Santa Monica (Calif.) with Dean Cain, and with actors Chad and Rob Lowe. Sheen was a member of the baseball team and played pitcher. However, according to his former coach Jose Lopez in Jerry Crowe's column in the Los Angeles Times, Sheen did not finish the season because he was expelled from school.
ED O'NEILL
Although best known for his role as Al Bundy on the long-running situation comedy "Married with Children", O'Neill was a good enough athlete in high school and college to get a tryout with an NFL team. The current star of "Modern Family" played football in high school at
Ursuline (Youngstown, Ohio), which won the Ohio Division IV state championship this year, and received a scholarship to Ohio University, according to O'Neill's Wikipedia entry. He later transferred to Youngstown State University. He reportedly received an invite to try out with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1969, but was later cut during training camp.
JAMIE FOXX
Known as Eric Mason Bishop in high school, Foxx played football and basketball at
Terrell (Texas) and even threw for more than 1,000 yards as the team's quarterback, according to Wikipedia. He went on to play a football player in the movie "Any Given Sunday."
ZACH GILFORD
The quarterback in the hit television series "Friday Night Lights" played high school football at
Evanston (Ill.) before an injury led to an interest in the theater.
MARIO LOPEZ Best known for his role as Slater on the teen comedy "Saved by the Bell", Lopez was a member of the wresting team at
Chula Vista (Calif.) and finished in seventh place at the 1991 California state championships in the 160-pound weight class.
JASON SUDEIKIS
One of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on the long-running NBC show "Saturday Night Live", Sudeikis was a point guard for
West (Shawnee Mission, Kan.) and graduated in 1994.
DEAN CAIN
Known for his role as Clark Kent/Superman in the TV series "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman", Cain was an all-around athlete at Santa Monica High School where he graduated in 1984. He played football and baseball and went on to play at Princeton University. He later received a tryout from the Buffalo Bills, but a knee injury ended his career.
MARK HARMON
The star of the hit CBS show "NCIS" and the son of Heisman Trophy winner Tom Harmon, Mark Harmon graduated from Harvard School for Boys, which later merged with Westlake School for Girls to become
Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.) in 1970. Harmon didn't play football his senior year after breaking his elbow as a junior, but he did play on the baseball team. He later went on to earn JC All-American honors as a quarterback at Pierce Junior College and was the starting quarterback at UCLA for two seasons.
JASON SEGEL
A member of the cast of "How I Met Your Mother" as well as movies like "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and "I Love You, Man", Segel was the backup center on the Harvard-Westlake basketball team that won the 1996 California state championship. Segel played behind a pair of future NBA players, twins Jason and Jarron Collins.
ASHTON KUTCHER
One of the stars of "That '70s Show" and "Punk'd", Kutcher attended
Clear Creek-Amana (Tiffin, Iowa) and saw some playing time as a wide receiver on the football team. Kutcher also helped coach freshman football at Harvard-Westlake High School during the 2008 season.
WILL FERRELL
A former member of Saturday Night Live and one of the top comedic actors in Hollywood today, Ferrell was a kicker on the
University (Irvine, Calif.) football team in the mid 80s.
KURT RUSSELL
A child star in Walt Disney movies by the age of 12, Russell excelled in baseball at
Thousand Oaks (Calif.) and graduated in 1969. Russell even played minor league baseball for a little more than a year before a rotator cuff injury ended his sports career.
