To quote from Wikepedia:
James Nathaniel “Jim” Brown (born February 17, 1936) is an American former professional football player who has also made his mark as an actor and social activist. He is best known for his exceptional and record-setting nine-year career as a running back for the NFL Cleveland Browns from 1957 to 1965. He is widely considered the best running back of all time. In 2002, he was named by The Sporting News as the greatest professional football player ever.[1] Uniquely, Brown was every bit as good a lacrosse player, with the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame stating that he was “widely considered to be the greatest lacrosse player ever.” Sportswriter Bert Sugar named Brown #1 in his book The Greatest Athletes of All Time.
Brown had begun his career as an actor with an appearance in the film Rio Conchos in 1964, then played a villain in a 1967 episode of I Spy called “Cops and Robbers”, went on to star in the 1967 war movie The Dirty Dozen (during the filming of which he announced his retirement from professional football), the 1970 movie …tick…tick…tick…, as well as in numerous other features. In 1969, Brown starred in 100 Rifles with Burt Reynolds and Raquel Welch. The film was one of the first to feature an interracial love scene. Raquel Welch reflects on the scene in Spike Lee’s Jim Brown: All-American. Brown acted with Fred Williamson in films such as 1974’s Three the Hard Way, 1975’s Take a Hard Ride, 1982’s One Down, Two to Go, 1996’s Original Gangstas and 2002’s On the Edge. He also guest starred in a handful of television episodes of various programs with Williamson. In 1998, he provided the voice of Butch Meathook in Small Soldiers. Perhaps Brown’s most memorable roles were as Robert Jefferson in The Dirty Dozen, and in Keenen Ivory Wayans’ 1987 comedy I’m Gonna Git You Sucka. Brown also acted in 1987’s The Running Man, an adaptation of a Stephen King story. He played a coach in Any Given Sunday and also appeared in Sucker Free City and Mars Attacks!.
Although not really associated with European Cinema, Brown did actually make a few films of interest. The Dark of the Sun (68) was a British film, directed by Jack Cardiff; 100 Rifles and El Condor US productions filmed in Spain, Ein Käfer geht aufs Ganze a German take on the ‘Herbie’ films and Kid Vengeance a bizarre US / Israeli / Italian co-production. His main european production, though, was the Blaxploitation western Take a Hard Ride (75), which also starred Fred Williamson and Jim Kelly.
Films
- Rio Conchos (1964) …. Sgt. Franklyn
- The Dirty Dozen (1967) …. Robert Jefferson
- The Split (1968) …. McClain
- Ice Station Zebra (1968) …. Capt. Leslie Anders
- The Mercenaries (1968) aka Dark of the Sun …. Ruffo
- 100 Rifles (1969) …. Lyedecker
- Kenner (1969) aka Year of the Cricket …. Roy Kenner
- Riot (1969) …. Cully Briston
- Condor, El (1970) …. Luke
- The Grasshopper (1970) …. Tommy Marcott
- …tick… tick… tick… (1970) …. Jimmy Price
- Käfer geht aufs Ganze, Ein (1971) aka The Love Bug Rally …. Howard
- Black Gunn (1972) …. Gunn
- Slaughter (1972) …. Slaughter
- I Escaped from Devil’s Island (1973) …. Lebras
- The Slams (1973) …. Curtis Hook
- Slaughter’s Big Rip-Off (1973) …. Slaughter
- Three the Hard Way (1974) …. Jimmy Lait
- Take a Hard Ride (1975) …. Pike
- Kid Vengeance (1977) …. Isaac
- Fingers (1978) …. Dreems
- Pacific Inferno (1979) …. Clyde Preston
- One Down, Two to Go (1982) …. J
- The Running Man (1987) …. Fireball
- I’m Gonna Git You Sucka (1988) …. Slammer
- Crack House (1989) …. Steadman
- L.A. Heat (1989) …. Captain
- Twisted Justice (1990) …. Morris
- Killing American Style (1990) …. Sunset
- The Divine Enforcer (1992) …. King
- Mars Attacks! (1996) …. Byron Williams
- Original Gangstas (1996) …. Jake Trevor
- Small Soldiers (1998) (voice) …. Butch Meathook
- He Got Game (1998) …. Spivey
- Any Given Sunday (1999) …. Montezuma Monroe
- New Jersey Turnpikes (1999)
- On the Edge (2002) …. Chad Grant
- She Hate Me (2004) …. Geronimo Armstrong
- Animal (2005) (V) …. Berwell
- Dream Street (2005)
TV
- “I Spy” …. Tommy (1 episode, 1967)
- “Police Story” …. Peter ‘Pete’ Gerard (1 episode, 1977)
- “CHiPs” …. Romo / … (3 episodes, 1979, 1983)
- “Cover Up” …. Calvin Tyler (1 episode, 1984)
- “T.J. Hooker” …. Detective Jim Cody / … (2 episodes, 1983, 1984)
- “Knight Rider” …. C.J. Jackson (2 episodes, 1984)
- “The A-Team” (1 episode, 1986)
- “Highway to Heaven” …. Warren Brille (1 episode, 1988)
- Lady Blue (1985) (TV) …. Stoker
- Hammer, Slammer, & Slade (1990) (TV) …. Slammer
- Sucker Free City (2004) (TV) …. Don Strickland
- Sideliners (2006) (TV) …. Monroe