Hollywood Stars, Putting Up Their Dukes

If you had to pick one profession that has been portrayed by the deepest talent pool throughout film history, your thoughts might turn to a gangster or politician or perhaps teacher, soldier or cowboy. But you'd be wrong. Try boxer.

From the beginning, with silent superstars Charlie Chaplin ("The Champion") and Buster Keaton ("Battling Butler") to Robert De Niro ("Raging Bull") and continuing Friday with Oscar-winner Russell Crowe as Depression-era fighter Jim Braddock in "Cinderella Man," Hollywood Heavyweights have been fascinated by the possibilities of the ring.

Why? Perhaps nothing offers the perpetual challenge-seeking thespian a wider array of choices on a physical, psychological and emotional level than embodying a pugilist.

"Boxing gives actors everything because it's one person reacting to another person, reacting to his inner feelings, reacting to everything," says Bert Sugar, a former editor of Ring magazine who is working with Budd Schulberg and Spike Lee on the long-planned film project "Save Us Joe Louis." "A boxer is stripped naked for the boxing scenes, and he's stripped naked in his acting," says Sugar.

Kirk Douglas, who became a star by playing a boxer -- he received an Oscar nod for his menacing middleweight fighter, Midge Kelly, in 1949's "Champion" -- was attracted to the role because of the solitary aspect of the sport.

"It reminded me of when I played a gladiator in 'Spartacus,' " the 88-year-old actor says in a phone interview. "One on one. That's exciting, dangerous and dramatic." It was Douglas's skill in another sport that attracted him to boxing for the camera.

"I never boxed before but I was an undefeated champion wrestler when I was at St. Lawrence University," Douglas says. "Boxing is like wrestling. . . . There's no team playing with you. You get the glory and you get the blame."

It's that spotlight on the individual that's at the heart of the sport, which has propelled actors to some unforgettable performances. It's a list that spans the decades: Wallace Beery in 1931's "The Champ," James Cagney in "City for Conquest" (1940), Errol Flynn in "Gentleman Jim" (1942), John Garfield in "Body and Soul" (1947), Paul Newman in "Somebody Up There Likes Me" (1956), Anthony Quinn in "Requiem for a Heavyweight" (1962), James Earl Jones in "The Great White Hope" (1970), Sylvester Stallone in 1976's "Rocky." More recently, Will Smith was nominated for an Oscar for his turn in the ring in 2001's "Ali," and, of course, Hilary Swank earned an Oscar for her portrayal of a boxer in last year's "Million Dollar Baby."

One of the more overlooked boxing films is 1972's "Fat City," John Huston's tale of two boxers at different stages of their careers, starring Jeff Bridges and Stacy Keach.

" 'Fat City' got down to what boxers are: hardscrabble kids," says Sugar. "It shows the underbelly of both society and boxing. The only way they could make it in life was through boxing. Once you tear away the veneer of the championship fights, that's what boxing is all about."