Hulk Hogan was a mega star beyond the squared circle. As his fame and popularity with Hulk-A-Mania in the WWF grew he soon became a pop icon recognized all over the world. It wasn’t surprising at all when he made the jump to movies and television as his skills in the ring and on the microphone lent themselves to those mediums.
Hogan’s first film was a breakout role in in “Rocky III” (1982) in which he made a brief appearance as Thunderlips. The character wasn’t a stretch as it mirrored his in-ring persona to some degree. A flamboyant wrestler, Thunderlips fought Rocky in a charity match. It was a small role but an impactful one as other Hollywood offers began trickling in.
Hogan and WWF owner Vince McMahon collaborated in the film No Holds Barred which listed McMahon as a producer. Hogan starred as Rip Thomas, the WWE champ at odds with a rival promoter. The film also starred Tiny Lister as the baddie Zeus. The storyline would move from the big screen to the small screen as the Lister would show up in the real WWE wanting to battle Hogan in real-life. The angle would become the main event match at SummerSlam 1989 as Macho Man and Zeus fought Brutus Beefcake and Hogan in a tag team match.
Hogan moved into more family friendly film paving the way for The Rock. He starred in such comedies as Suburban Commando (1991) and Mr. Nanny (1993). In Commando, he was an alien warrior who crash lands on Earth and in Mr. Nanny he becomes a bodyguard and nanny of sorts to a family.
Although the movies didn’t set the box office on fire, they did open the door to more work. Hogan’s mainstream popularity had him popping up as a guest star, often as himself, on many television shows including Baywatch, Suddenly Susan, Walker: Texas Ranger, etc.
He also starred in his own TV show, Thunder in Paradise in 1994. He was one of two ex-Navy SEALs using their high-tech boat (the “Thunder” in the title) to fight crime in Florida. The show ran only one season.
From 2005 to 2007, Hogan joined the reality show craze with VH1’s Hogan Knows Best. The show followed him, his wife, his wife Linda, and their kids, Brooke and Nick. Hogan’s role as father and husband showed his personal and sometimes more vulnerable side.
Hogan Knows Best morphed into Brooke Knows Best which only ran for one season.
In 2006, he was nominated for TV – Choice Reality Star (Male) at the Teen Choice awards, which was the closest he would ever come to winning any kind of award for his TV and movie work.
His last two roles were voice work in Camp WWE and Gnomeo & Juliet.
Hogan also appeared in too many video games to name. Not only has he been a playable character in WWE, WCW and TNA games but he also was in the Legends of Wrestling series and Hulk Hogan’s Main Event for the Xbox 360.
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