Auston Matthews Open To Acting Roles, But Does He Have Chops To Top Cam Neely As Hockey’s Greatest Actor?

Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews revealed in a recent interview that he would be open to taking on some acting gigs in the future.

That's interesting because no one has acting range like hockey players: their acting chops run the gamut from good to not bad to as wooden as an old-school Koho twig.

Matthews has appeared in numerous commercials over the years, including a recent one with guy who almost bought the Ottawa Senators, Ryan Reynolds.

This led to the question of whether or not Matthews would like to get more acting work.

"Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't be opposed to it at all. I think it'd be really cool," Matthews smiled. "As time has gone on and you do more stuff like that, you kinda get more comfortable as you grow up a bit. Get more comfortable in your own skin in those situations. A lot of times it can be a lot of fun too."

It's good that Matthews is aware of the importance of getting some reps in front of the camera because there has been some terrible acting on display from players in the past.

NHLers Like Matthews Have Tried Acting With Various Levels Of Success

Some guys have "it" when it comes to acting. Others... well, they simply don't.

For instance, take a gander at this old Discover card commercial featuring Patrick Kane.

The man is one of the best American-born players ever... but an actor he is not.

Some have done better. Bruins star David Pastrnak did a more than respectable job, especially considering English is not his first language.

However, that was a good acting job, but only good by hockey player standards.

While Sean Avery is locking up roles in pretty much every Christopher Nolan flick these days, the gold standard in hockey player acting belongs to Cam Neely, Bruins great and the team's current president.

Neely had a cameo in D2: The Mighty Ducks back in 1994, but his tour de force came in a different 1994 film: Dumb And Dumber.

Neely turned in a transcendent performance as tough-guy trucker and burger desecrator Seabass.

I believe it was Will Ferrell as James Lipton who came up with the only word befitting of that performance: scrumtrelescent.

Auston Matthews might prove to be a half-decent actor for a hockey player, but Cam Neely has set the bar incredibly high.

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