Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, who has always aspired to be an actor, has transitioned from the fighting ring to the film set, stating that his determination and love for cinema have helped him navigate the acting world despite the challenges of mastering technical details and creating truthful portrayals of his characters.
Anderson Silva, a former UFC middleweight champion famously known as “The Spider,” has made a name for himself in the fighting world. Known for his exceptional performances and victories in the UFC, the champion has always wanted more than the ring – his lifelong dream, acting. After expressing his inclination towards the squared circle for years, Silva took the plunge into acting post-separation from the company. Transitioning from face-offs with legends and celebrities in UFC to facing cameras for his acting roles, Silva is living his dream.
Silva’s acting journey began with roles in Brazilian movies during his run as a UFC champ. One of his first American ventures was working on an episode of NCIS: Los Angeles in 2014. Now, several years later, he’s fully immersed himself in the acting scene. However, Silva maintains that the worlds of fighting and acting are two different realms. In a recent episode of the Trocação Franca podcast, he said, “For you to do a fight scene, people will be like, ‘But this guy fights, it’s easier for him,’ but it’s not. It’s actually harder, because you have to do the right movement, the right angle, you can’t go over the camera, all these different technical details. But it’s super cool. It’s a challenge for someone that loves cinema and action movies like me.”
Silva’s most recent work includes a film named “Murder City,” where he portrayed the role of a bodyguard. The film premiered on Tubi earlier this year. Additionally, he worked on “Lord of the Streets” in 2022, featuring alongside former MMA champions A.J. McKee and Quinton Jackson. Despite the busy schedule and juggling between two completely different characters at the same time, Silva loves the challenge and reaffirms that determination and hard work brought him these acting opportunities.
Despite the fame and respect he earned through his illustrious MMA career, Silva asserts that it does not contribute to his acting career. He says, “Fighting has given me many things. It has given me incredible and fantastic things, like the opportunity to travel and know the whole world. But I think that my determination – abdicating from things – has given me this opportunity to show my work as an actor. It’s two different worlds. Fighting doesn’t help me in absolutely anything in acting.” Silva continued that his name and story from his fighting career have nothing to do with his auditions and sets. He emphasized the importance of displaying truth in the character to thrive in the acting industry.