It's no surprise that many celebrities have used their status to invest and grow their own businesses to explore new ventures, and with the past year alone seeing the likes of Ryan Reynolds and Natalie Portman exploring the ownership of sports teams, they are already in a surprisingly big field of actors who own a part of their beloved teams.
No matter where they came from and how they got to where they are today, these actors have expressed their love for sports that may surprise even their biggest fans, and some of them have even helped to improve the teams' passion and determination in the process.
Ryan Reynolds - Wrexham AFC
Ryan Reynolds has already proved to be a busy businessman when he's not starring in Hollywood movies. As well as acting in movies like Deadpool and The Adam Project, he's also got his own gin distillery, Aviation American Gin.
He and Rob McElhenney became the proud co-chairmen of Wrexham AFC, a welsh-based soccer team that competes in the National League. This is also their first joint venture into sports too as, after only one year according to Wrexham AFC, they have shown their support through witnessing the games and investing money into causes around the team.
Michael Jordan - Charlotte Hornets
While newcomers may be more familiar with LeBron James when it comes to Space Jam, fans of the original movie will more fondly remember it as Michael Jordan's jumping-off point into acting. The famed basketball player may not be the best actor to star alongside the Looney Tunes, but fortunately, he would continue his sports career while gaining some new fans from the movie.
Considering that Michael Jordan was already a big name in sports, it may not be hard to believe that he returned to basketball as he invested his money into the Charlotte Hornets, as reported by Bleacher Report. Owning over 80 percent of the team, Jordan returned to his love of the sport after his brief stint as an actor and has never looked back.
Justin Timberlake - Memphis Grizzlies
While many may know of Justin Timberlake for his musical career after the success of the band N-Sync, he has a very impressive acting career too. Since first appearing in The All-New Mickey Mouse Club, he has starred in many hit movies like Trolls and Palmer, showing off his talents as an actor as well as a musician.
RELATED: Justin Timberlake's 5 Best (& 5 Worst) Movies, According To IMDb
A native of Memphis, Timberlake owns a minority of the basketball team Memphis Grizzlies. Passionate about the sport and the team, earlier in the year, he once asked fans to vote for Ja Morant to star in the 2022 NBA All-Star game, according to Beale Street Bears.
LeBron James - Liverpool FC
While many will be familiar with LeBron James as a basketball champion, movie fans will recognize him as the star of Space Jam: A New Legacy after briefly appearing in the comedies Trainwreck and Smallfoot. If LeBron will continue acting, it's a hard one to say, but at least he's given it a try.
And it may be surprising for basketball fans to know, but he doesn't own a team within the sport that shot his career off from the page of Sports Illustrated. Instead, he owns a minority of the Liverpool FC soccer team since 2011 and has continued to support them ever since.
Matthew McConaughey - Austin FC
The actor has been a recognizable face in some of the biggest blockbusters like The Gentlemen and Interstellar. But he is also a massive sports fan too and will often support Texas-based teams who focus on American football and basketball.
And three years ago, be got into soccer and bought the shares for Austin FC. And in a match earlier in the year, he got the crowd, and the team pumped up as he did his character's famous chant from The Wolf of Wall Street (described at Goal.com), which saw the team make one of their biggest wins.
Eva Longoria - Necaxa
Since her career took off with Desperate Housewives, Eva Longoria has never shown signs of slowing down as she has starred in movies and television shows, including Dora and the Lost City of Gold, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Jane the Virgin, but she is also passionate about yoga, showing off her prowess and physicality in some viral videos.
Last year, the Dail Mail reported that she contributed to an unexpected move that some may have been surprised to see from her and the celebrities she teamed up with. Longoria, along with Kate Upton and Mesut Ozil, bought the Mexican-based Necaxa FC.
Will Ferrell - Los Angeles FC
Will Ferrell may have starred in some of the most successful comedies, but the actor has always been passionate about sports. While studying at the University High School in Irvine, he played for his school's soccer, American football, and basketball teams.
In 2016, he became the co-owner of his home team, The Los Angeles FC, and has continued to support and invest in them since, (per Bleacher Report). Ferrell may not seem like an ordinary owner, but he has shown his devotion to the game with his appearances on the pitch.
Russell Crowe - South Sydney Rabbitohs
After finding himself on the set of the hit Australian series Neighbours, Russell Crowe gained international fame and starred in some of the biggest Hollywood blockbusters, including Man of Steel and Thor: Love and Thunder, but he is also very passionate about rugby, which he's involved himself with outside of his acting career.
In 2006, he became a co-owner of the South Sydney Rabbitohs rugby team as a joint venture with Peter Holmes à Court. And since then, he has invited many celebrities to witness the games that his team has competed in and appeared in televised interviews to raise the love that he and many fans have for this special Australian team that was reported in the Guardian.
Bill Murray - St. Paul Saints
When it comes to comedies, it's guaranteed that everyone has at least seen one movie starring Bill Murray, whether it's any of the Ghostbuster or several of Wes Anderson's quirky movies. He also enjoyed diving into some other ventures too, one of which was opening a food truck in Charleston, S.C.
His biggest is easily his ownership of several baseball teams in the minor leagues. While he partly owns the Charleston RiverDogs, Brockton Rocks, and Hudson Valley Renegades, he is a huge supporter of St. Paul Saints as he travels to see the games that they competed in as reported in another Bleacher Report article.
Natalie Portman - Angel City
Natalie Portman recently returned to the big screen as Jane Foster, aka The Mighty Thor, in Thor: Love and Thunder. However, this year has proven to be a big one for her in other ways as well.
In an attempt to improve equality in soccer, Portman founded a new team named Angel City alongside other famous women (per the Guardian). Taking part in the 10th season of the National Women's Soccer League, the team has grown and will hopefully continue to find success in the sport.