Celebrities are found in all walks of life, however, entertainment and sports are known to produce a high number of celebrities, due largely to the influence of mass media. Being a well-televised sport, motor racing also has its fair share of superstar professionals, including the likes of Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, and Sebastian Vettel, among others.
Furthermore, non-motor racing celebrities are often seen behind the wheels displaying their automotive skills through motor shows like Top Gear, racing events like the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race, or intense car chase movie scenes such as in Bullitt. Here, for their stint behind the wheels, we think these celebrities could have had awesome careers as professional racers.
10 Frankie Muniz
Malcolm in the Middle, a Fox television sitcom gave Frankie Muniz all the fame he could have wished for. In 2003, the American actor was widely considered as the most popular child actor – then the tracks came calling.
Muniz’ foray into racing started with a 7th place finish at the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race in Long Beach, in 2004 – the following year, he was the best-finishing celebrity. Professionally, he’s raced for Jensen Motorsport, Pacific Coast Motorsports, and Team Stargate Worlds.
9 Eric Bana
Australian Actor, Eric Bana loves fast cars and beyond words of mouth, he shows the love on the tracks. As an actor, he broke into Hollywood for his performance in the 2001 war film, Black Hawk Down.
However, long before he found Hollywood fame and success, Bana had always been a racing enthusiast; he already owned a ’73 Falcon Coupe at age 15 – a car he owns to date. He’s modified the car severely and has also raced it in the Targa Rally twice, in 1996 and 2007.
8 Matt LeBlanc
Quite weird seeing Matt LeBlanc take anything seriously – hey, he’s “Joey Tribbiani” for heaven’s sake. The American actor and Friends star has proven himself beyond all doubts on the racetracks earning him the role of a presenter on the BBC car show, Top Gear, in 2016.
Before that, LeBlanc had featured twice on Top Gear as a celebrity guest in which he raced to the fastest lap ever recorded by a celebrity – Joey doesn’t joke behind the wheels.
7 Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen once said he wasn’t sure if he was an actor who races or a racer who acts, and that succinctly describes the love the American actor had for racing. In movies, McQueen personally performed several driving stunts as seen with some car chase scenes in the movies Bullitt and Le Mans.
McQueen nurtured thoughts of becoming a professional racer – he got to a 3rd place finish at a one-off race with the British Touring Car Championship and a win at the 12 Hours of Sebring race.
6 Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise needs no introduction; his multiple movie awards and movie features speak for him. Also, Cruise loves fast cars and this latent love found expression when he got cast for the 1990 movie, Days of Thunder. Having become friends with actor and racing enthusiast Paul Newman, Cruise got encouraged by him to take up racing lessons.
Though he was tagged a “bad driver” due to his aggressiveness while racing and also due to him being prone to accidents, Cruise’s love for racing never waned – he even once appeared on Top Gear.
5 Adam Carolla
Adam Carolla does a bit of everything; he’s a podcaster, filmmaker, entrepreneur, comedian, and he’s also a race car driver. As a gearhead and fast car enthusiast, Adam Carolla is considered as arguably the biggest collector of late actor-driver, Paul Newman’s race cars.
Though he bought the cars largely as an investment, Carolla races them often. In 2017, Carolla made his pro debut with the Burtin Racing team for the Trans Am’s. He’s also raced in the annual Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race several times with victories.
4 Nick Mason
Nick Mason is an English man who drummed himself to word fame and massive success. Born in Birmingham, the Pink Floyd drummer has just as much passion for speed as he does for music. Mason decided to devote his free time in-between tours to his lifelong passion, motor racing.
He already had a racing car, and he added more to his collection. Mason particularly has a soft spot for the Ferrari brand and has raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and The Grand Tour among others.
3 Patrick Dempsey
Grey’s Anatomy star, Patrick Dempsey doesn’t hide his love of speed. He’s been an avid lover and follower of car racing since childhood but only took up racing as an adult. Dempsey once said he could leave acting for racing as it had become part of who he is. He has competed in top tier Pro-Am racing events such as Rolex 24 at Daytona and 24 Hours of Le Mans.
He currently owns Dempsey Racing, a team he formed to compete in the American Le Mans Series and has a wide range of sports and vintage car collection.
2 Paul Newman
American actor, Paul Newman was as famous for racing as he was for acting. He developed an interest in racing due to a racing movie role and had his maiden pro race at Thompson International Speedway, in 1972. He won four national championships at the Sports Car Club of America, raced in 24 Hours of Le Mans, and also in the Trans-Am Series.
For winning his class at the 1995 24 Hours of Daytona, Newman, at 70, became the oldest driver ever to be a part of a winning team at a major racing event.
1 Michael Fassbender
Hollywood hotshot, Michael Fassbender is trying his hand at something he loves just as much as playing awesome roles in big movies – it’s car racing. The Marvel star said he’s had the dream since childhood through the influence of his dad whom he claimed was an “avid driver.”
Fassbender drove the Ferrari 488 during the Ferrari Challenge Series in 2017 and 2018, and the 911 GT3 Cup car in Germany’s Porsche Sports Cup Series of 2019. Notably, Fassbender will contest the 2020 European Le Mans Series with Proton Competition. Incredible!